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REPORT  OF  COLPORTAGE 


f  rrpra,  $jtetj  Crarliira,  toft  Stout]}  Carolina, 


FOR 


THE  YEAR  ENDING  MARCH  1,  1855. 


IN  reviewing;  the  labors  of  the  agents  and  colporteurs  of  the  Amer- 
ican Tract  Society  in  Virginia,  and  North  and  South  Carolina,  the 
past  year,  we  have  great  reason  to  thiink  God  and  take  courage,  as 
more  has  been  accomplished,  and  we  believe  in  a  more  effectual  man- 
ner, than  in  any  previous  year.  Another  cause  of  thankfulness  is, 
that  out  of  nearly  one  hundred  colporteurs  employed  on  this  field 
none  have  died,  although  the  work  has  been  somewhat  retarded  by 
sickness. 

On  the  7th  of  April,  a  Colporteur  Convention  assembled  in  Wil- 
mington, North  Carolina,  at  which  ten  agents  and  colporteurs  were 
present,  which  continued  in  session  eight  hours  a  day  for  two  days, 
besides  meetings  each  night.  During  the  sessions  personal  narratives 
were  given  by  all  the  brethren  present,  and  the  principles  of  the 
Society  were  fully  discussed.  The  colporteurs  gave  a  full  account 
of  the  wants  of  their  different  fields  of  labor,  and  some  of  them  so 
daguerrcotypcd  the  moral  destitutions  of  large  portions  of  their 
fields  that  Christian  hearts  bled  while  looking  at  the  picture.  As  an 
evidence  of  the  interest  felt  in  the  work,  and  its  adaptation  to  that 
State,  the  good  people  of  Wilmington  gave  nearly  $900  in  donations 
to  carry  it  forward. 

On  the  18th  of  May,  another  Convention  was  held  at  Charleston, 
Kanawha  county,  Virginia,  at  which  eight  laborers  in  this  work  were 


M795334 


2  .        COLPORTAGE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

present,  when  the  same  course  was  pursued  as  at  Wilmington.  The 
fields  of  the  colporteurs  who  attended,  embraced  about  fourteen  coun- 
ties of  South-western  Virginia.  The  men  were  natives  of  the  coun- 
ties, and  well  acquainted  with  them.  In  two  or  three  of  those  coun- 
ties, there  was  but  one  church-building  of  any  kind  to  accommodate 
the  population  of  a  broken,  mountainous  country,  and  the  preaching 
they  had  was  held  in  the  log  cabins,  at  most  but  once  in  each  month. 
Several  of  the  other  counties  had  but  two,  few  of  them  more  than 
three  houses  of  worship,  and  most  of  them  could  only  accommodate 
from  fifty  to  one  hundred  hearers  ;  while  they  are  generally  so  open, 
that  they  cannot  be  occupied  at  all  in  the  winter.  The  sparseness 
of  the  population  prevents  the  possibility  of  sustaining  either  week- 
day or  Sunday-schools  ;  hence  multitudes  are  growing  up  in  igno- 
rance, and  even  those  that  can  read  have  been  found  almost  entirely 
destitute  of  all  kinds  of  books,  except  so  far  as  they  had  been  supplied 
by  the  Bible  and  Tract  Societies.  There  are  no  bookstores  within 
reach  of  them,  and  there  is  no  motive  for  book-pedlars  to  visit  them, 
as  they  are  destitute  of  means  to  buy  books  ;  and  in  no  way  can 
they  have  religious  reading,  but  by  the  hand  of  charity.  Some  of  the 
colporteurs  stated  that  they  had  travelled  a  whole  week  without  sell- 
ing twenty-five  cents'  worth  of  books. 

Two-thirds  of  the  families  in  some  counties  had  no  books  of  any 
kind  except  a  Bible,  and  a  book  given  by  a  former  colporteur,  both, 
in  many  instances,  much  worn  by  use,  but  as  well  taken  care  of  as 
possible  ;  while  many  new  families  had  sprung  up  destitute  of  all 
kinds  of  books.  With  very  few  exceptions,  books  have  been  received 
most  gratefully,  and  in  many  cases  with  tears  of  joy  on  the  part  of 
mothers  and  children.  One-third  of  the  families  in  some  of  those 
counties  seldom  or  never  heard  the  gospel  preached.  Children  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  years  old  had  never  seen  a  preacher  or  heard  a 
prayer  till  offered  by  the  colporteur,  and  many  were  never  in  a 
school  till  taken  to  a  Sabbath-school  raised  up  by  one  of  these  labor- 
ers. More  than  two  hundred  Sabbath-schools  have  been  aided  by 
donations  of  books,  or  new  ones  organized  in  destitute  places. 

During  the  meeting,  numerous  facts  were  related  of  the  most 
encouraging  character,  showing  the  good  done  by  books  and  tracts. 
]  cannot  forbear  relating  one  or  two,  as  they  came  from  persons  not 
connected  with  the  Society. 

A  Mr.  McC ,  who  lived  some  miles  distant,  attended  closelj 

all  the  time  of  our  meeting.  When  we  were  about  closing,  he  re- 
quested the  privilege  of  making  a  statement,  which  was  readily 


AMERICAN  TRACT 'SOCIETY.  3 

granted.  He  said,  twenty  years  ago  he  was  a  very  wicked,  thought- 
less man.  While  at  the  Kanawha  salines  one  day,  a  Mr.  R 

handed  him  a  card-tract ;  as  soon  as  he  got  out  of  sight  he  read  it, 
and  it  made  him  think  seriously.  He  read  it  again  and  again,  till  he 
thought  he  read  it  one  hundred  times  over  ;  and  the  Holy  Spirit 
blessed  it  to  his  soul.  He  at  once  commenced  family  worship  ;  his 
wife  was  awakened  by  it  and  embraced  Christ ;  and  now  he  had  six 
children  and  eight  servants  hopefully  pious,  as  the  result  of  the  di- 
vine blessing  on  that  tract.  He  told  the  story  with  an  overflowing 
heart — and  closed  with  handing  me  a  liberal  donation. 

Another  immediately  rose  and  stated  that  about  the  same  time  of 
this  man's  conversion,  a  celebrated  pugilist  lived  in  his  region,  who 
was  the  dread  of  the  whole  community.  When  the  new  county  of 

L was  laid  out,  the  place  to  build  the  court-house  was  disputed 

very  warmly,  and  it  was  agreed  that  Mr.  B and  another  bully 

should  fight  for  the  location.     Mr.  B gained  it,  and  the  house 

was  built  as  the  result.     He  was  frequently  indicted  for  breaches  of 

the  peace.     Judge  S ,  who  was  then  judge  of  the  court,  had  to 

try  him  on  three  indictments  at  one  time,  and  when  he  pronounced 

sentence  on  him,  said  that  if  ever  B came  before  him  again  he 

would  imprison  him,  as  he  considered  -him  a  dangerous  man  :  he 
then  handed  him  two  tracts,  and  told  him  to  read  them,  and  he 
hoped  they  would  make  him  a  better  man.  The  reading  resulted  in 
his  conversion  ;  he  soon  commenced  preaching  the  gospel,  and  for 
twenty  years  he  had  been  one  of  the  most  devoted,  useful  men  in  the 
county.  He  had  recently  died  in  the  faith  of  the  gospel,  lamented 
by  all  that  knew  him. 

At  the  close  of  this  Convention,  the  Rev.  Dr.  B 's  congrega- 
tion gave  near  $300  to  aid  the  cause.  The  Doctor,  who  acted  as 
secretary  of  the  Convention,  said  he  knew  the  great  destitution  of 
Western  Virginia,  and  that  we  ought  to  have  a  colporteur  perma- 
nently located  in  each  county,  to  visit  every  family  two  or  three 
times  a  year,  supply  them  with  books  and  tracts,  read  the  Bible  to 
them,  and  pray  for  them  and  with  them. 

I  have  been  particular  in  stating  the  moral  condition  of  a  few  of 
those  counties  ;  but  there  are  nearly  forty  counties  in  Virginia  little 
better  supplied  with  religious  influences,  and  more  than  that  number 
of  counties  in  North  Carolina  are  equally  destitute,  while  the  obsta- 
cles are  much  greater. 

There  have  been  5t  colporteurs  laboring  in  Virginia  the  whole  or 
a  part  of  the  year,  the  actual  time  being  twenty-six  years  of  labor. 


4          COLPORTAGE  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

We  have  visited  28,340  families  ;  religious  conversation  or  prayer 
have  been  held  with  14,585  ;  of  the  whole  number  visited,  1,195  at- 
tended no  place  of  worship  ;  788  families  had  no  Bibles  ;  1,714  no 
religious  books  except  the  Bible  ;  40,313  volumes  have  been  sold,  and 
15,854  volumes  given  to  the  poor  and  destitute  ;  and  1,434  meetings 
have  been  held  for  devotional  purposes.  The  entire  cost  of  the  work 
in  Virginia  has  been  $8,855  10.  Donations  raised  to  pay  expenses, 
$7,066  44. 

In  North  Carolina,  the  colporteurs  have  visited  18,555  families  ; 
prayed  with  10,375  ;  found  1,542  families  habitually  neglecting  the 
house  of  God ;  1,001  destitute  of  the  Bible  ;  2,288  destitute  of  all 
religious  books  except  the  Bible  ;  they  have  sold  22,978  volumes ; 
have  given  to  the  poor  7,951  volumes,  and  held  740  religious  meetings. 
Thirty-one  colporteurs  have  labored  the  whole  or  part  of  the  year, 
making  eleven  years  one  month  and  twenty-three  days  ;  total  cost 
of  services  and  expenses,  $3,348  29.  Mr.  W.  J.  W.  CROWDER  will 
hereafter  collect  donations  to  aid  the  cause  in  North  Carolina. 

In  South  Carolina,  the  work  is  but  fairly  begun.  Eight  colpor- 
teurs have  labored  part  of  the  past  year,  and  we  find  the  same  need 
for  labor  there  as  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  and  have  no  doubt 
there  is  the  same  ground  of  encouragement.  Mr.  E.  L.  KERRISON,  of 
Charleston,  a  retired  merchant,  has  undertaken  the  work  of  superin- 
tending colportage  in  that  state,  Georgia,  and  Eastern  Florida.  He 
is  a  man  of  systematic  business  habits,  and  will  devote  all  his  ener- 
gies to  the  work  without  any  compensation  except  the  luxury  of 
doing  good. 

During  the  year  I  have  travelled  over  8,000  miles,  and  have  at- 
tended colporteur  conventions  in  St.  Louis,  Chicago,  and  Charleston  ; 
in  addition  to  those  in  North  Carolina  and  Western  Virginia.  These 
have  been  large  meetings,  of  deep  interest,  and  of  vast  importance  to 
the  cause  of  Christ.  In  all  these  meetings  the  necessity  and  practi- 
cability of  this  union  system  of  effort  have  been  fully  developed. 
The  system  of  colportage  as  conducted  by  the  American  Tract  Soci- 
ety stands  higher  now  in  the  estimation  of  the  people  of  my  field 
than  it  ever  did,  and  notwithstanding  the  commercial  embarrass- 
ments of  the  past  year,  more  has  been  given  than  in  any  previous 
year. 

We  now  enter  upon  another  year  with  a  larger  number  of  experi- 
enced colporteurs  than  we  ever  had,  and  with  better  information  as 
to  the  most  destitute  portions  of  this  great  field.  Two  very  efficient 
General  Agents  of  the  Society,  the  Rev.  S.  R.  SLACK  of  the  Protest- 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY.  5 

ant  Episcopal  church,  and  Rev.  M.  T.  SUMNEB  of  the  Baptist  church, 
whose  reports  follow  this,  have  contributed  much  to  the  prosperity 
of  the  enterprise  in  Virginia. 

We  earnestly  bespeak  an  interest  in  the  prayers  of  God's  people 
in  behalf  of  this  work,  and  we  respectfully  ask  all  who  may  read  this 
report  if  they  will  not  inquire,  "Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to 
do  ?"  and  as  multitudes  can  never  be  reached  by  the  Society's  Gen- 
eral Agents,  will  not  the  reader  send  to  me  by  mail  what  he  may 
wish  to  give  ? 

Yours  in  the  labors  of  the  gospel, 

J.  CROSS,  Superintendent  of  Colportage 

in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina. 
RICHMOND,  March  1,  1855. 


REPORTS  OF  GENERAL  AGENTS. 

Rev.  M.  T.  SUMNEB  writes,  "Another  year's  labor  as  General  Agent 
of  the  American  Tract  Society  for  Virginia  has  been  accomplished. 
I  have  abundant  reason  to  thank  God  and  take  courage.  His  pro- 
tection has  been  enjoyed  amid  a  thousand  dangers,  and  his  blessings 
have  been  strewed  all  along  my  path  with  a  lavish  hand.  I  can 
appropriately  use  the  language  of  the  pious  David,  'Bless  the  Lord, 

0  my  soul,  and  forget  not  all  his  benefits.'     The  friends  of  Zion  have 
received  me  with  a  cordiality  that  indicates  their  growing  interest  in 
this  great  catholic  institution,  and  with  a  liberality  that  gives  earnest 
of  their  continued  support. 

"  During  the  past  year,  ending  March  1, 1  have  collected  $3,427  81, 
including  $12  75  for  the  American  Messenger,  $38  56  for  The  Child's 
Paper,  and  $22  25  for  Tracts.  More  than  $600  have  been  subscribed, 
which  will  be  available  by  the  first  of  June  next.  Other  amounts 
secured  through  the  efforts  of  your  associate  in  this  work  have  been 
paid  directly  into  the  treasury  of  the  Society,  not  passing  through 
his  hands. 

"  The  publications  of  the  Society  are  universally  received,  and  we 
are  not  without  evidence  of  the  great  good  they  are  accomplishing. 

1  have  several  times  during  the  year  been  cheered  in  the  prosecution 
of  my  work  while  listening  to  the  recitals  of  those  who  have  dated 
their  conversion  to  the  reading  of  '  Come  to  Jesus/  '  Doddridge's  Rise 
and  Progress,'  'What  is  it  to  believe  in  Christ/  or  a  small  handbill 
stamped  with  '  Eternity.'     These  are  the  leaves  of  the  tree  of  life. 
May  the  whole  earth  be  filled  with  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord. 


6  COLPORTAGE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"The  monthly  periodicals  of  the  Society  are  great  favorites—- 
they should  be  found  in  every  household.  In  relation  to  the  Child's 
Paper,  a  highly  useful  minister  of  the  gospel  writes  me,  'We  cannot 
get  on  well  without  it.  It  gives  much  interest  to  our  Sunday-schools, 
and  even  many  of  our  grown-up  people  are  so  much  of  children  as  to 
be  very  much  pleased  with  it.'  Said  an  old  subscriber,  when  appli- 
cation was  made  to  him  to  know  whether  he  wished  to  renew  his 
subscription  for  the ,  Messenger  and  Child's  Paper,  'Yes,  certainly; 
every  body  ought  to  take  them.' 

"In  pursuing  my  travels,  I  have  been  pleased  to  trace  the  foot- 
steps of  our  dear  brethren  as  they  have  passed  from  house  to  house. 
These  colporteurs  are  living  witnesses  of  the  character  of  our  work. 
They  leave  their  mark  on  the  families  they  visit.  I  have  been  able 
to  get  my  largest  subscriptions  upon  those  fields  most  cultivated  by 
our  colporteurs.  These  men  for  the  most  part  are  devoted  to  their 
work.  Said  one  of  them  to  me  last  winter*  as  we  were  riding  along- 
together  over  the  rough  roads  of  the  county  of  H ,  while  the  wind 

was  ffigh  and  the  cold  intense,  'My  dear  brother,  I  thank  God  that  I 
am  a  colporteur.  It  does  me  so  much  good  to  visit  these  humble 
homes  and  speak  to  their  neglected  inmates  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  leave 
them  some  good  books  that  will  talk  when  I  am  gone.' 

"  I  have  visited  some  five  or  six  conventions  of  ecclesiastical  bod- 
ies and  two  colporteur  conventions,  one  in  Wilmington,  North  Caro- 
lina, and  the  other  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  These  conventions 
resulted  in  great  good,  and  have  given  an  onward  impulse  to  our  col- 
portage  system.  Those  present  at  these  gatherings  of  the  colpor- 
teurs, agents,  and  officers,  and  friends  of  the  enterprise,  will  not  soon 
forget  the  delightful  interviews  then  enjoyed.  Our  hearts  were, 
warmed  and  our  zeal  quickened  for  God. 

"In  closing,  I  would  say  that  the  American  Tract  Society  has 
secured  the  confidence  of  the  people  of  Virginia  by  its  fidelity  to  the 
principles  of  its  constitution.  It  has  commanded  their  respect  from 
the  unity  of  its  object  and  the  harmony  that  has  prevailed  in  its  coun- 
cils. It  deserves  the  sympathy  and  support  of  all  good  and  pious 
people,  as  it  is  engaged  in  a  work  long  neglected  and  urgently  de- 
manded— the  religious  instruction  of  the  poor  and  ignorant  at  their 
own  homes.  God  speed  this  Society,  the  object  of  which  is  to  diffuse 
a  knowledge  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Eedeemer  of  sinners, 
and  to  promote  the  interests  of  vital  godliness  and  sound  morality 
by  the  circulation  of  religious  tracts  calculated  to  receive  the  appro- 
bation of  all  evangelical  Christians." 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY.  7 

Rev.  S.  R.  SLACK  reports,  "During  the  year  ending  March  1,  I 
have  presented  the  claims  of  the  Tract  Society  before  congregations 
in  the  counties  of  Albemarle,  Orange,  Madison,  Fauquier,  Loudoun, 
Clarke,  Jefferson,  Berkeley,  Frederick,  Nelson,  Amherst,  Botetourt, 
Roanoke,  Cumberland,  Halifax,  Pittsylvania,  Nansemond,  and  North- 
ampton ;  and  in  the  towns  of  Portsmouth,  Charlottesville,  Winchester, 
Norfolk,  Petersburg,  Williamsburg,  and  Richmond,  at  the  University 
of  Virginia,  and  the  college  of  William  and  Mary  in  Virginia  ;  and 
also  in  the  cities  of  Washington  and  Georgetown,  District  of  Colum- 
bia, and  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in  all  which  places  considerable 
interest  has  been  manifested  in  the  cause  of  colportage  and  the  dis- 
semination of  a  religious  literature  ;  and  liberal  contributions  have 
been  made  in  furtherance  of  these  objects.  My  collections  have 
amounted  to  $3,308  94.  The  people  see  the  necessity  of  a  work  like 
ours,  and  its  adaptation  to  the  increasing  wants  of  our  country,  and 
they  have  expressed  their  estimate  of  this  work,  so  far  as  the  expres- 
sion has  been  made  through  me,  in  the  above-named  number  of  dol- 
lars and  cents.  May  the  Lord  reward  all  those  who  thus  express 
their  good-will,  and  give  them  his  blessing  both  now  and  evermore." 

EXTRACTS  FROM  REPORTS  OF  COLPORTEURS  IN 

VIRGINIA. 

REPORT  OF  MR.  A.  B. 

"During  this  quarter  I  labored  mostly  in  the  lower  part  of  -  —  county,  over 

an  area  of  twenty  square  miles.  Mr.  W ,  a  pious  and  benevolent  Presbyterian, 

who  resides  on  the  extreme  upper  side  of  the  region,  saw  and  felt  the  wants  of  the 
people  and  sought  for  a  colporteur.  0,  if  we  had  such  men  in  every  district, 
there  would  not  long  remain  so  much  destitution.  I  visited  every  family  in  the 
district,  and  supplied  them  with  books  and  tracts,  either  by  sale  or  grants.  I 
worked  my  way,  meeting  and  adapting  myself  and  religious  truth  to  the  aged  and 
the  young,  of  varied  cases,  but  all  in  need  of  religious  influence  to  counteract  evils 
destructive  to  the  soul. 

"  I  met  a  man  who  said,  God  made  some  people  drunkards  and  some  sober.  On 
asking  for  some  evidences  of  this  opinion,  he  declined  giving  any,  saying  it  was 
his  own  notion.  Another  said  he  didn't  believe  any  body  would  ever  get  to  heaven, 
yet  he  professed  a  belief  in  the  word  of  God.  Another  man  offered,  as  an  excuse 
for  not  getting  books,  his  having  two  Bibles  ;  and  for  his  dislike  to  being  a  Chris- 
tian, the  inconsistency  of  church-members.  I  answered  his  objections  ;  read  some 
in  Baxter  on  Conversion  and  the  Bible.  His  wife  and  seven  children  were  all  irre- 
ligious1. I  sold  him  $3  50  worth  of  books. 

' '  I  offered  to  sell  books  to  the  head  of  a  family  who  told  me  there  was  no  relig- 
ion in  his  neighborhood.  I  said,  then  there  is  a  greater  necessity  for  religious 
books.  He  bought  a  dollar's  worth,  after  much  persuasion.  He  lived  within  three 
hundred  yards  of  a  church,  of  which,  I  was  informed,  he  was  a  member.  Met  a 


8  COLPORTAGE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

very  old  man,  and  inquired  about  his  religious  state.  He  said  he  had  none.  '  Why,' 
said  I,  '  so  long  in  this  world,  and  not  yet  ready  for  the  next  ?'  Gave  him  The  Great 
Question  Answered.  Saw  him  soon  after,  and  gave  him  a  book  suited  to  the 
anxious  inquirer,  for  he  had  become  such. 

' '  Some  heads  of  families  put  no  estimate  on  religious  truth ;  with  such  I 
always  succeed  when  I  feel  earnestly  the  interest  that  our  work  demands.  Some  I 
meet  with  who  have  but  little  knowledge  of  the  Bible,  and  of  themselves.  One 
had  not  been  to  church  for  thirty  years.  A  woman  in  good  circumstances,  and 
who  has  several  sons,  when  I  spoke  of  the  youths'  library,  said,  '  What  sort  of  a 
book  is  that  ?'  Some  think  sinners  ought  not  to  pray.  One  read  a  tract  on  swear- 
ing, and  resolved  to  quit  the  practice.  Some  carry  their  books  with  them  to  their 
fields,  and  read  as  they  rest.  The  Sabbath  Manual  is  highly  prized  and  widely 
read.  I  had  a  fine  opportunity  to  circulate  tracts  on  the  railroad.  I  found  no  such 
books  as  Bunyan,  Doddridge,  and  Baxter  in  the  large  number  of  families  visited, 
and  rarely  a  family  altar ;  great  negligence  in  parental  instruction,  and  no  Sab- 
bath-schools. I  endeavored  to  put  a  copy  of  '  Come  to  Jesus '  in  every  family.  I 
visited  scarcely  a  family  that  was  well  supplied  with  books.  The  greatest  number 
had  but  few,  and  some  had  none  at  all.  I  met  with  kindness  and  respect.  Gen- 
erally, the  people  need  our  labor  and  the  distribution  of  religious  information. 
May  all  ultimate  in  their  salvation  and  the  glory  of, God." 

REPORT  OF  REV.  A.  W. 

"Since  my  last  quarterly  report,  a  considerable  portion  of  my  time  has  been 
spent  in  ministerial  labors,  especially  where  continuous  meetings  have  been  held. 
This  accounts  for  my  light  sales ;  but,  from  the  scarcity  of  ministers  and  the 
special  indications  of  the  divine  blessing  on  our  efforts,  it  seemed  necessary  to 
deviate  from  the  rule  regulating  the  specific  duties  of  colporteurs.  Very  many 
persons  have  been  brought  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth  at  the  different  meetings  I 
have  attended.  One  of  them  says  the  Anxious  Inquirer  was  the  great  work  with 
him,  as  it  was  the  means  of  leading  him  to  trust  in  Christ  for  salvation. 

"Some  portions  of  my  field  are  very  destitute.  One  man  said,  in  reply  to  my 
question,  '  Don't  you  want  some  good  books  ?'  '  No  ;  I  have  no  use  for  books,  but 
I  would  like  to  get  a  jug  of  liquor.'  One  day  I  suppose  I  passed  twenty  houses 
and  hovels  without  being  able,  by  all  the  arguments  I  could  produce,  to  sell  a 
single  book.  In  this  portion  of  country,  the  colporteur  meets  with  many  trials  of 
faith  and  patience.  He  has  great  need  to  '  take  unto  him  the  whole  armor  of 
God.'  But  while  his  labors  in  travelling  through  this  rugged  wilderness  country 
are  very  arduous,  and  while  he  has  prejudice  and  arrogance  on  the  one  hand,  and 
on  the  other  ignorance  and  poverty  to  contend  with,  yet  he  has  reason  to  thank 
God  that  he  is  permitted  to  spread  abroad  the  sacred  pages  of  truth  which  must 
result  in  good  to  his  fellow-men,  and  to  the  glory  of  God.  That  such  may  be  the 
result  of  all  our  labors  is  my  prayer." 

REPORT  OF  MR.  W.  C.  T. 

"  Those  only  who  have  realized  it,  know  how  great  is  the  sacrifice  one  makes  in 
leaving  the  dear  home  circle  to  engage  in  a  self-denying  mission  like  this.  Yet 
among  its  bitter,  I  find  a  sweet,  for  it  is  truly  delightful  to  trace  the  footsteps  of 
guch  a  colporteur  as  the  one  who  preceded  me  in  this  region.  He  has  left  an  influ- 
ence here  that  will  tell  on  generations  yet  to  come.  But  as  you  want  facts  and 
not  opinions  merely,  I  have  prevailed  on  a  gentleman  to  write  a  sketch  of  the 
impressions  made  on  his  mind  by  this  colporteur,  which  I  give  you.  In  addition 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY.  9 

to  what  this  man.  has  written  I  will  add,  that  he  was  very  wicked  and  dissipated, 
but  he  is  now  one  of  the  most  devoutly  pious  men  I  meet  with,  and  is  sincerely 
anxious  to  train  up  his  children  for  God.  He  loves  the  Tract  Society,  and  all  in 
any  way  connected  with  it,  because  it  was  the  instrument  of  his  conversion. 

"The  Lord  has  been  reviving  his  work  here.  Souls  have  been  converted  to 
God,  and  others,  with  melted  hearts,  are  inquiring,  Lord,  what  wouldst  thou  have 
us  to  do?  I  have  organized  one  Sabbath-school,  which  promises  well,  to  judge 
from  the  lively  interest  shown,  by  those  concerned  in  it.  They  promise  to  keep  it 
up  during  the  entire  winter,  which  is  rare  in  this  country,  where  Sunday-schools 
are  closed  in  winter." 

NARRATIVE  BY  MR.  S.  C. — "June  6.  This  is  a  day  long  to  be  remembered,  for 
it  is  the  anniversary  of  my  first  solemn  impressions  of  the  value  of  my  soul,  occa- 
sioned by  the  faithful  admonitions  of  Mr.  P ,  a  colporteur  of  the  American 

Tract  Society.  On  entering  my  house  at  noon,  four  years  ago  this  day,  my  little 
daughter  met  and  told  me  there  was  a  man  within  who  had  books  to  sell.  I 
replied,  rudely,  that  I  reckoned  he  was  a  yankee.  My  mind  changed  on  meeting 
his  mild  look,  and  listening  to  his  pleasant  conversation.  Both  told  me  he  was  a 
man  of  God  sent  to  do  me  good.  He  soon  recommended  some  of  his  books,  and  I 
bought  Saints'  Rest,  Baxter's  Call,  Doddridge's  Rise  and  Progress,  and  Edwards' 
History  of  Redemption.  Wfyen  we  sat  down  to  dinner,  the  colporteur  implored 
God's  blessing  on  the  bounties  before  us.  This  pleased  me  much,  for  I  had 
neglected  this  duty  all  my  life. 

' '  After  dinner  he  and  I  retired  to  another  room.  Seeing  his  boldness  in  speaking 
on  religious  subjects,  I  feared  he  would  put  hard  questions  to  me,  and  so  I  told 
him  I  was  no  professor  of  religion.  He  then  asked  permission  to  pray  with  my 
family.  This  was  a  great  cross  to  me,  for  we  were  all  strangers  to  prayer.  How- 
ever, I  told  him  he  might  pray.  On  seeing  my  family  all  collected  together  to  be 
prayed  with  for  the  first  time  in  their  lives,  I  felt  ashamed,  for  I  knew  it  was  a 
duty  that  ought  to  have  been  performed  long  ago.  He  read  Isaiah  51st  and 
explained  it,  and  then  we  knelt  to  pray.  The  sweet  words  he  used  in  prayer  for 
me  and  my  family,  affected  me  still  more.  After  prayer  he  asked  my  -wife  if  she 
had  made  her  peace  with  God  ;  and  on  receiving  a  negative  reply,  he  admonished 
her  and  all  of  the  danger  of  delay,  and  begged  us  to  seek  God  at  once,  and  then 
bade  us  farewell  most  kindly.  I  was  almost  persuaded  to  be  a  Christian  just  then. 
Two  days  afterwards  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  afflict  us  heavily  ;  a  dear  little  daugh- 
ter took  suddenly  ill,  and  died  before  sunset  the  same  day.  This  brought  back  to 

memory  Mr.  P 's  conversation  and  prayer,  and  led  me  to  reflect  on  my  past 

life ;  how  wicked  I  had  been,  and  I  resolved  not  to  rest  until  my  sins  were  for- 
given. I  told  my  wife  about  my  resolution,  and  she  joined  in  it.  Hearing  of  the 

death  of  our  child,  Mr.  P came  to  sympathize  with  us.    I  told  him  how  much 

I  desired  to  seek  the  Lord,  and  opened  my  heart  to  him  for  instruction.  He  was 
greatly  delighted. with  this,  and  told  me  the  way  I  should  pursue,  pointing  to  the 
Lamb  of  God,  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world.  And  now  I  sought  earnestly 
the  new  life,  reading  my  new  books,  and  praying  for  divine  direction  and  assist- 
ance. This  continued  for  eight  or  ten  days,  during  which  I  read  much  in  Baxter's 
Call,  which  was  accompanied  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  One  night,  as  I  prayed,  I  was 
led  to  believe  that  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  heard  my  petitions  and  forgave  my  sins, 
which  made  me  rejoice  in  his  great  name.  My  friend  rejoiced  with  me.  Since 
that  time  I  have  passed  through  great  difficulty  and  distress  of  mind ;  but  God 
being  my  helper,  I  was  strengthened  to  bear  up  under  them,  and  I  thank  God  that 
my  face  is  still  set  Zionward,  and  by  his  grace  I  am  more  than  ever  determined 
to  make  heaven  my  home  at  the  end  of  this  life." 

2 


10  COLPORTAGE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

' '  The  people  in  this  county  must  have  books ;  so,  as  there  are  no  bookstores, 
they  supply  themselves  with  novels  and  school-books  as  they  can  ;  but  they  buy 
your  volumes  eagerly,  and  appreciate  them  highly.  I  have  yet  to  hear  of  the  first 
one  who  was  dissatisfied  with  his  purchases.  One  who  bought  $9  worth  of  books, 
told  me  he  would  not  take  $20  for  them.  Some  had  long  wanted  such  and  such 
books,  but  did  not  know  where  to  get  them ;  while  others  date  their  conviction 
of  sin,  and  instruction  in  the  way  of  life,  from  the  perusal  of  these  volumes. 
While  there  is  much  good  evangelical  preaching  in  this  county,  facts  compel  me 
to  say  that  there  is  also  some  of  a  directly  opposite  character :  for  example,  one 
preacher  reproved  his  people  sharply  for  letting  people  of  other  denominations  than  their 
own  come  into  their  houses.  He  told  them  they  could  not  be  saved  unless  they  kept 
the  commandments,  and  one  of  the  commandments  was,  '  If  any  come  unto  you,  and 
have  not  this  doctrine,  receive  him  not  into  your  houses.'  He  accused  his  people 
of  being  worse  than  men  of  the  world,  'for,'  said  he,  'you  not  only  receive  such 
into  your  houses,  but  you  even  let  them  pray  with  you,  which  some  of  the  men  of  the 
world  have  assured  me  they  would  not  permit. ' 

"To  show  the  effect  of  such  preaching  as  this,  suffer  me  to  state  an  anecdote. 
I  asked  an  old  lady  if  we  should  pray  before  parting.  'Oh,  no ;  we  don't  have 
any  praying  in  our  houses.'  'I  thought  you  said  you  were  a  church-member?' 
4  Oh,  yes  ;  I  am  a  member  of  the  —  —  now.  /  did  not  change  as  some  of  these 

young  people  here  did,  who  joined  the  —  — ,  and  some  the  United .' 

'  Are  you  a  member  of  any  church,  and  yet  live  without  prayer  ?'  '  Oh,  yes  ;  I  try 
to  pray  in  church ;  but  then  we  never  pray  at  our  houses.  Some  pray  at  their  tables, 

but  we  never  have  any  praying  at  our  tables.  These  United have  been 

praying  for  three  weeks,  'alluding  to  a  prayer-meeting,  '  but  there  is  no  use  in  my 
praying  ;  I  pay  my  preacher  for  doing  tJiat. ' 

"  Even  when  wholesome  doctrine  is  preached,  the  astonishing  ignorance  of  the 
hearers  which  we  often  meet  with,  shows  the  necessity  of  colportage.  For  exam- 
ple, I  visited  a  lady  thirty  years  of  age,  who  could  not  tell  me  who  died  for  sin- 
ners ;  and  even  her  mother  was  unable  to  answer  the  question  ;  but  when  I  asked 
if  she  had  not  heard  the  minister  say,  '  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his 
only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life  ?'  she  said,  '  Oh,  yes  ;  I  have  heard  the  preacher  say  that ;'  show- 
ing that  though  she  remembered  the  language,  she  knew  nothing  of  its  meaning. 
I  looked  up  every  dwelling,  rich  and  poor,  and  when  I  found  the  inmates  absent, 
slipped  the  tract,  Prepare  to  meet  thy  God,  or  some  other  suitable  one.  under  the 
door. 

"The  people  along  the  mountains  are  very  destitute,  not  only  of  religious 
books,  but  of  the  comforts  of  life.  I  rode  from  morning  till  night  during  four  of 
the  coldest  days  this  season,  and  sold  only  85  cents'  worth  of  books.  In  certain 
portions  of  the  county  the  people  did  not  treat  me  kindly,  while  in  other  places  I 
met  with  the  most  cordial  Christian  sympathy  and  kindness.  In  that  part  of  the 

county  explored  by  brother  P ,  I  found  about  one  family  in  fifty  destitute  of 

religious  books,  and  in  the  part  he  did  not  visit,  about  one  in  every  four  or  five. 

' '  The  temperance  reformation  is  creating  a  good  deal  of  excitement  here  at 
present.  The  magistrates  have  refused  to  grant  license  to  liquor-sellers.  I  gave 
the  Temperance  Manual  to  a  man  who  not  only  drank,  but  encouraged  his  chil- 
dren to  drink.  He  promised  to  quit  the  practice.  A  farmer  told  me  he  had  a 
drinking  man  in  his  employment,  for  whose  reformation  he  was  willing  to  give 
almost  any  thing.  I  gave  that  man  a  tract,  which  was  effectual  in  breaking  him  of 
the  habit. 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY.  11 


REPORT  OF  REV.  L.  H. 

"  I  am  happy  to  say  that  there  is  certainly  an  improvement  in  the  moral  con- 
dition of  my  field.  Last  year  seven  Sabbath-schools  were  kept  up  in  C county, 

where  there  had  been  only  two  or  three  at  any  previous  time.  The  Lord  has 
blessed  my  labors  to  the  conversion,  I  trust,  of  fifteen  souls.  I  preached  eighty- 
eight  sermons  in  connection  with  my  colporteur  labors.  Some  change  has  taken 
place  also  in  the  anti-reading  portions  of  my  field.  In  a  neighborhood  of  Anti- 
mission  Baptists  I  preached  on  Saturday  and  Sabbath,  and  by  Wednesday  night 
succeeded  in  selling  eight  dollars'  worth  of  books,  and  apparently  a  considerable 
religious  interest  was  awakened.  A  leader  in  drinking  parties  bought  Putnam 
and  the  Wolf.  He  has  quit  drinking,  and  says  the  '  book  saved  him. '  Hearing 
that  a  young  lady,  sinking  in  consumption,  resisted  every  effort  of  her  pious 
friends  to  turn  her  thoughts  to  her  spiritual  state,  I  sent  her  a  Bible  with  a  written 
request  to  read  it,  as  it  was  sent  for  her  own  good.  She  read  my  note,  and  turning 
to  the  Bible,  it  pleased  God  to  bless  her  reading.  She  lived  just  two  weeks  longer, 
and  died  praising  Him  who  had  called  her,  first  to  suffer  and  then  to  rejoice  for 
ever.  Many  others  thank  God  for  books,  and  say  they  are  great  blessings  to  the 
community  ;  but,  alas,  there  is  yet  great  destitution. ' ' 

REPORT  OF  MR.  J.  A.  W. 

' '  I  have  spent  four  months  and  twelve  days  in  your  service,  and  have  gone 
once  entirely  over  King  William  county.  Visited  410  families,  sold  books  to  the 
amount  of  $349  66,  and  granted  to  the  value  of  $40  61.  Found  thirteen  families 
destitute  of  the  Bible,  and  supplied  eight,  and  intend  to  take  the  other  Bibles  on 
my  next  course  of  visitation.  Four  of  these  families  could  not  read.  Although 
the  people  in  this  county  are  very  generally  well  supplied  with  books,  I  have  sold 
many.  My  sales  were  not  confined  to  private  houses.  I  sold  by  the  way-side  and 
away  in  the  woods,  wherever  I  could  find  a  human  being  at  work  that  would  buy. 
I  met  a  man  one  day  who  said,  '  You  will  starve  selling  books.'  But  not  as  long 
as  the  Tract  Society  sends  me  good  books  and  tracts  to  sell  and  give  the  people ; 
while  this  lasts,  there  is  no  danger  of  starving,  I  replied.  I  have  been  very 
kindly  received,  and  some  tell  me  I  am  doing  a  great  work,  and  wish  me  God  speed. 
It  seems  that  I  cannot  get  to  the  people's  houses  fast  enough.  Some,  when  we 
meet,  tell  me  they  have  been  looking  for  me  to  come  with  my  books  and  tracts, 
and  if  I  happen  to  pass  without  calling,  they  fancy  themselves  slighted.  I  visited 
a  family,  and  as  I  was  leaving  the  old  lady  grasped  my  hand,  and  with  brimming 
eyes  said,  '  I  know  the  Lord  sent  you  here.'  Scenes  like  that  comfort  me. 

' '  I  visited  the  Indians  in  this  county  living  on  the  Pamuiiky  river.  They 
have  about  1,200  acres  of  land,  600  of  which  is  in  cultivation.  There  are  fifteen 
families  living  on  this  land.  It  is  divided  into  fifteen  parts,  to  suit  themselves. 
Some  of  them  are  in  good  circumstances  ;  some  very  dissipated  and  idle.  They 
might  all  make  respectable  livings  on  this  land,  if  they  would  work.  They  spend 
a  good  deal  of  time  in  fishing.  A  large  number  of  them  can  read,  and  twenty-five 
of  them  belong  to  the  church.  They  told  me  they  were  glad  I  had  thought  enough 
of  them  to  visit  them.  They  would  like  to  have  a  church,  but  lack  means  to  build 
one.  They  have  $25,  that  they  are  keeping  for  this  purpose,  but  it  will  take  $150 
to  put  up  a  suitable  house.  They  hold  their  prayer-meeting  in  private  rooms. 
Last  year  their  crops  were  destroyed  by  hail-storms.  I  also  visited  the  reputed 
Indians  on  Matapond  river.  They  are  a  reckless  people.  Only  one  family  can 
claim  an  Indian  origin,  and  it  is  a  very  respectable  family.  The  wife  and  daugh 


12  COLPORTAGE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

ter  can  read  and  write,  and  both  belong  to  the  church.  The  husband  is  not  an 
Indian.  The  wife  brought  out  her  family  Bible,  which  she  said  had  been  her 
grandmother's.  It  appeared  to  me  to  have  been  used  a  hundred  years.  I  read  a 
chapter  and  prayed  with  them.  There  are  eight  or  ten  little  huts,  besides  this 
house  in  the  settlement,  all  in  a  ruinous  condition.  These  people  claim  fifty-five 
acres  of  land. 

"There  are  twelve  churches  in  this  county,  and  seven  Sabbath-schools,  con- 
taining from  three  to  four  hundred  pupils.  The  Lord  was  with  his  people  last 
year,  and  many  souls  were  brought  to  the  fold  of  Christ.  I  have  visited  about  one 
fourth  of  King  and  Queen  county,  and  hope  to  get  over  all  of  it  by  the  first  of 
July." 

REPORT  OF  MR.  C.  R.  R. 

"  At  the  close  of  another  year  in  the  Society's  service,  I  am  reminded  that  you 
will  be  expecting  some  account  of  what  I  have  seen  and  done,  and  what  God  has 
done  through  my  instrumentality. 

"In  making  1,122  visits,  and  in  passing  about  my  field  of  labor,  I  have  seen 
much  need  of  col  portage  and  other  active  Christian  effort,  and  have  endeavored  to 
get  as  many  persons  as  possible  engaged  in  Sabbath-schools  and  other  ways  of 
doing  good. 

"In  circulating  by  sale  and  gift  about  four  thousand  volumes,  I  have  seen 
many  places  where  they  were  greatly  needed.  Some  families  had  very  few  books 
of  any  kind  ;  many,  but  a  limited  supply  when  compared  with  their  abundance  in 
other  things ;  and  other  families  needed  them  to  take  the  place  of  trashy  publica- 
tions. I  have  seen  many  children  growing  up  with  but  little  knowledge  of  God 
and  his  word  and  ways,  and  have  been  glad  of  the  opportunity  of  getting  them 
interested  in  Sunday-schools,  and  the  Bible,  and  good  books.  In  a  school  I  recently 
established  in  the  edge  of  Green  county,  a  young  woman  about  sixteen  years  of 
age  was  asked  what  the  temple  was,  of  which  she  had  just  been  reading  in  the 
second  of  John  ;  as  she  gave  no  answer,  the  teacher  repeated  the  question,  adding, 
'  Was  H  a  place  to  worship  God,  or  a  market  f  she  replied,  '  A.  market.' 

"I  have  seen,  as  I  fear  every  colporteur  does,  much  of  the  sad  effects  of  intem- 
perance, and  have  circulated  many  of  the  Society's  publications  on  that  subject. 
I  hare  seen  the  Sabbath  desecrated  by  visiting,  travelling,  open  stores,  etc.  ;  and 
have  given  circulation  to  the  Sabbath  Manual  and  other  publications  intended  to 
promote  the  better  observance  of  the  sacred  day.  At  special  successive  meetings 
I  have  seen  many  persons  led  to  embrace  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  their  Saviour, 
and  have  esteemed  it  a  great  privilege  to  be  in  any  way  a  helper  on  such  occasions. 
The  Rev.  B.  E.  Gibson,  who  conducted  the  meeting,  has  recently  gone  to  his  eter- 
nal reward.  He  was  an  able  minister  and  one  of  the  most  excellent  of  the  earth. 
A  few  years  since  he  was  chaplain  at  the  University  of  Virginia,  where  he  was 
esteemed  and  loved  by  all  who  knew  him.  I  was  with  him  several  days  just  before 
his  last  illness,  when  he  expressed  his  estimation  of  my  work,  and  regretted  he 
had  not  a  hundred  dollars  to  purchase  books  and  tracts  for  distribution.  Next  day 
he  bought  as  many  as  his  means  would  allow,  to  which  I  added  some  as  a  grant. 
I  remember  how  pleased  he  was  when  some  friends  presented  him  the  Pastor's 
Library,  and  some  time  after  he  desired  me  to  get  it  presented  to  his  colleague, 
and  also  to"  other  ministers.  I  mention  these  things  in  connection  with  this 
departed  friend,  feeling  assured  that  his  name  and  expressions  will  be  remembered 
in  this  community  as  long  as  any  that  can  be  mentioned. 

"The  Rev.  W.  M.  N ,  in  introducing  me  to  his  congregation,  spoke  of  the 

Tract  Society  as  the  Peace  Society,  having  nothing  to  do  with  denominational  mat- 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY.  13 

ters.  He  also  accompanied  me  to  the  houses  of  some  of  his  people.  An  afflicted 
aged  lady  desired  him  to  select  five  dollars'  worth  of  books  for  her,  which  he  did ; 
and  on  visiting  her  a  few  days  afterwards,  she  was  so  pleased  with  his  selection 
that  she  exclaimed,  '  Oh,  sir,  you  have  made  me  rich.' 

' '  I  am  pleased  from  time  to  time  to  hear  that  the  publications  not  only  give 
great  satisfaction,  but  are  useful  in  a  variety  of  ways.  I  gave  '  Baxter's  Call '  to  a 
thoughtless  young  man  some  years  ago.  He  was  not  accustomed  to  read  serious 
books,  but  his  pious  mother  informed  me  that  on  a  Sunday,  when  he  was  kept  at 
home  by  bad  weather,  he  spent  part  of  the  day  reading  the  '  Call.'  She  could  not 
say  it  had  proved  the  means  of  his  conversion,  but  as  he  rose  from  perusing  the 
book,  he  went  to  his  room  and  destroyed  his  pack  of  cards.  He  has  recently  pur- 
chased quite  a  number  of  books. 

"I  gave  the  tract  'Little  James,'  to  a  small  boy  of  that  name.  His  mother 
read  it  to  him,  while  he  listened  very  attentively.  As  she  ended  the  reading,  he 
burst  into  tears  and  said  he  wished  he  could  be  as  good  as  little  James.  I  supplied 

the  S Sabbath-school  with  the  Youth's  Library.  A  boy  about  ten  years  of  age 

became  greatly  interested  in  the  books,  and  as  he  read  and  wept  he  said  he  believed 
some  one  had  just  written  them  to  make  people  get  religion.  A  lady  said  the 
*  Tract  Primer '  had  been  a  treasure  to  little  George.  It  has  kept  him  contented 
from  play  on  the  Sabbath  ;  we  have  read  to  him  and  he  has  learnt  to  read  himself, 
and  has  also  committed  much  of  it  to  memory ;  and  when  he  hears  the  Bible  read, 
or  listens  to  preaching,  he  remembers  any  passage  he  has  seen  in  his  Primer,  and 
is  sure  to  express  pleasure  either  by  word  or  look.  I  am  happy  to  discover  a  grow- 
ing interest  in  good  reading,  and  particularly  in  the  Society's  publications.  Mr. 

R remarked  that  he  believed  the  interest  would  increase,  and  people  would 

desire  more  and  more  of  such  reading.  He  spoke  of  himself,  how  he  had  lost  his 
love  for  light  reading,  and  felt  that  he  had  no  time  for  it,  now  that  so  many  good 
books  were  brought  to  his  notice.  May  God's  blessing  be  given  so  abundantly 
that  every  page  will  prove  a  means  of  doing  good." 

REPORT  OF  MR.  J.  A.  D. 

• '  I  have  labored  nine  months  for  the  Society,  and  have  had  much  pleasure  in 
the  work,  much  spiritual  comfort,  and  much  satisfaction  from  the  indications  I 
have  had  that  your  publications  have  been  of  great  benefit,  strengthening  the 
believer,  comforting  the  penitent,  and  awakening  the  sinner.  I  assisted  to  organize 
one  Sabbath-school  which  numbers  eighty  scholars.  Considerable  interest  is  felt 
for  this  school  in  its  own  neighborhood,  and  I  think  it  will  be  a  blessing  to  the 
entire  community.  The  books  were  furnished  by  a  Sabbath-school  agent.  I  have 
just  returned  from  a  part  of  this  county  never  before  visited  by  a  colporteur  of 
the  American  Tract  Society.  Found  much  destitution,  a  great  number  with  few 
or  no  religious  books.  Being  compelled  to  leave  that  neighborhood,  after  visiting 
but  few  families,  I  left  some  books  with  a  friend,  and  on  my  return  found  one  man 
who  had  been  led  to  reform  his  life  and  seek  an  interest  in  Christ  from  reading 
'  Alleine's  Alarm,'  and  another  from  the  perusal  of  '  Caroline  Smelt.'  " 

REPORT  OF  REV.  W.  B.  B. 

' '  The  part  of  P county  which  is  known  by  the  name  of  the  North  Fork  of 

the  Potomac,  is  a  very  rough  part  of  the  world.  The  people,  however,  are  very 
kind,  and  every  face  seems  to  brighten  up  at  the  sight  of  a  colporteur  and  his 
books,  which  they  generally  call  '  splendid.'  I  found  many  who  could  not  read  a 


14  COLPORTAGE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

word.  They  would  ask  me  to  read  a  little  for  them,  which  I  did,  and  it  seemed  to 
delight  them  very  much.  Found  one  man  deeply  concerned  about  his  soul.  I 
stayed  over  night  to  converse,  instruct,  and  pray  with  him.  I  left  him  in  a  state 
of  great  spiritual  enjoyment.  I  went  down  the  South  Fork  as  far  as  the  county- 
seat,  spent  one  night,  and  delivered  a  lecture  in  the  free  meeting-house  to  a  large 
congregation.  I  found  many  warm  friends  of  the  tract  cause.  I  found  it  neces- 
sary to  spend  the  night  at  an  inn,  but  on  calling  for  my  bill  next  morning  the 
landlord  told  me  my  bill  had  been  discharged  by  a  gentleman." 

REPORT  OF  REV.  E.  C. 

"One  day  I  visited  17  families  ;  eight  of  them  had  no  Bibles ;  24  grown  persons 
among  them  could  not  read.  One  girl  of  12  had  never  heard  a  sermon.  Asking 
her  if  there  was  a  Bible  in  the  house,  she  said,  '  Yes,'  and  brought  me  an  alma- 
nac. She  called  it  a  new  Bible,  and  said  her  father  bought  it  last  year.  I  prayed 
with  that  family,  to  their  utter  astonishment.  It  was  the  first  time  a  prayer  had 
been  offered  in  that  house.  I  asked,  at  another  house,  '  Have  you  a  Bible  ?'  'No, 
and  we  do  n't  want  one.'  'Have  you  any  good  books?'  'No.'  I  opened  my 
package  of  books,  and  then  I  was  ordered  out  of  the  house ;  but  I  said  I  was  not 
in  a  hurry  to  go — I  wanted  to  sell  some  books.  They  said  the  priest  would  not 
permit  them  to  read  such  books  ;  but  finally  I  persuaded  them  to  buy  Baxter's  Call, 
a  tract  volume,  a  pamphlet,  Bible  Stories,  etc.  Since  that  time  both  man  and  wife 
have  joined  the  Protestant  Methodist  church.  One  man  refused  to  comply  with 
his  wife's  entreaties  for  a  Testament,  'because  she  would  always  be  reading  it 
when  she  ought  to  be  at  work.'  A  man  who  had  spent  his  last  copper  for  rum, 
wanted  Baxter's  Call  for  his  wife.  He  offered  his  bottle  of  rum  for  one.  I  told 
him  to  take  the  book  and  keep  it  and  read  it,  which  he  promised  to  do.  I  took 

the  bottle  of  rum,  and  broke  it  in  the  street  of  W .  I  am  told  this  man  has 

quit  drinking. 

' '  I  have  been  visiting  much  among  very  poor  people,  riding  through  cold  and 
wet,  with  much  fatigue  and  anxiety  of  mind,  doing  all  I  could  in  the  ministry 
besides,  and  often  coming  home  to  find  my  family  sick.  I  have  attended  five  pro- 
tracted meetings,  and  have  had  evidence  of  82  hopeful  conversions.  There  is  a 
great  demand  for  books,  and  many  people  are  glad  to  see  me.  They  say,  '  The 
preacher  has  all  kinds  of  books;  yes,  the  very  books  we  want.'  I  have  organized  one 
Sabbath-school,  and  two  more  will  be  organized  as  soon  as  I  can  get  books.  I  visit 
every  house  as  I  go,  and  have  selected  but  a  few  incidents  out  of  many  which  are 
interesting." 

REPORT  OF  MR.  A.  W.  B. 

' '  My  time  was  mostly  spent  on  the  most  destitute  portions  of  my  field,  where 
my  work  has  been  profitably  done  and  highly  appreciated.  I  visited  many  poor 
people  and  supplied  them  with  books,  as  my  grants  show.  I  gave  Baxter's  Saints' 
Rest  to  the  mistress  of  a  family,  who  said  she  did  not  believe  in  the  Bible.  I  visit 
all  the  day  schools  on  my  field  for  tract  distribution,  conversation,  and  prayer. 
The  little  people  are  always  anxious  to  see  me,  and  have  much  to  tell  their  parents 
about  the  colporteur.  One  day  I  visited  11  families,  sold  $1  07  worth  of  books, 
and  granted  $3  35.  Such  is  the  proportion  my  grants  bear  to  my  sales  in  a  whole 
neighborhood  sometimes.  These  facts  I  mean  to  publish  over  the  whole  country 
wherever  I  go. 

"Sometimes  I  am  quite  exhausted  by  labor,  but  I  cannot  be  idle  when  so  much 
must  be  done." 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY.  15 

REPORT  OF  REV.  W.  G.  M. 

"After  more  than  seven  years  spent  in  your  service,  I  now  look  over  the  large 
field  I  have  occupied  and  rejoice  in  the  great  improvement  that  has  taken  place  in 
that  time.  Many  places  seven  years  ago  destitute  of  God's  word,  preaching,  Sab- 
bath-schools, are  now  supplied  with  all  these.  There  has  been  a  large  increase  in 
the  number  of  Sabbath-schools  since  last  year.  The  cause  of  our  Lord  has  pros- 
pered through  your  instrumentality.  Like  the  good  leaven,  these  means  are  acting 
on  the  whole  population  of  our  hill  country.  To  the  patrons  of  the  Society  I  must 
say,  great  will  be  your  reward  in  heaven,  for  many  shall  rise  up  and  call  you  blessed, 
for  having  taught  them  the  way  of  eternal  life." 

REPORT  OF  MR.  W.  H.  M. 

' '  My  grants  during  the  year  were  large,  in  consequence  of  the  large  number  of 
poor  families  on  my  field.  Indeed,  it  appears  to  me,  that  had  the  patrons  of  the 
Tract  Society  been  with  me  and  witnessed  the  wretched  condition  of  some  of  these 
families,  the  poverty  and  ignorance  and  dissipated  habits  of  the  people,  they  would 
indeed  feel  that  they  are  aiding  a  good  cause  by  sending  out  books  and  laborers  to 
instruct  and  benefit  the  dwellers  on  these  mountains  and  vallies.  I  visited  one 
house  that  had  windows  without  glass.  Two  stools  made  up  the  furniture,  and 
there  were  four  little  half-clothed  children.  There  was  no  book  in  the  house.  I 
gave  them  a  Testament  and  some  little  books,  and  my  heart  filled  up  when  I  saw 
how  gratefully  they  were  received ;  and  I  felt  it  was  a  privilege  to  be  an  humble 
bearer  of  the  word  of  God  to  these  poor  people,  and  to  talk  to  them  about  the 
Saviour.  The  Lord  is  with  us ;  I  have  visited  numbers  who  seem  truly  penitent. 
One  lady  has  professed  conversion. ' ' 

REPORT  OF  MR.  J.  C.  C. 

"The  last  quarter  was  spent  in  my  native  county,  where  I  sold  upwards  of  $400 
in  books  and  tracts,  although  it  is  considered  a  dissipated  county,  considering  the 
religious  advantages  enjoyed  by  the  people.  I  found  books  enough,  such  as  they 
were ;  but  some  had  no  religious  books,  and  these  people  were  exceedingly  pleased 
with  such  as  were  given  them.  One  poor  widow  with  several  small  children,  after 
thanking  me  repeatedly  for  the  books  and  tracts,  saying  they  would  be  so  accepta- 
ble to  read  on  the  Sabbath,  raised  the  window,  after  I  had  left  the  house,  to  say 
she  was  very  much  obliged.  It  is  truly  gratifying  to  be  the  bearer  of  good  books 
and  tracts  to  the  destitute,  believing  they  will  be  read  with  interest  and  be  produc- 
tive of  good.  In  N county  I  found  much  destitution,  but  the  people  were 

quite  ready  to  buy  books  whenever  they  had  money,  while  the  indigent  received 
them  gladly  when  they  were  granted." 

REPORT  OF  REV.  R.  W.  B. 

"A  brother  who  had  bought  books  of  me  several  times,  told  me  not  long  since, 
that  of  all  the  books  he  had  purchased  of  me,  not  one  was  left.  He  had  read  them 
and  then  sold  or  loaned  or  given  them  among  his  neighbors.  I  let  him  have  a 
quantity  at  half  price,  which  he  has  disposed  of  in  the  same  way,  and  thus  much 
good  is  done.  I  was  called  on  to  preach  the  funeral  sermon  of  a  young  man  who 
was  converted  through  the  agency  of  the  tracts,  'Tis  All  for  the  Best,  and  The 
Widow's  Son. 

"About  two  hundred  conversions  have  taken  place  on  this  field  during  the 
year.  Five  or  six  churches  were  built,  and  many  other  signs  of  improvement  are 
visible." 


16  COLPORTAGE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

REPORT  OF  MR.  D.  B.  E. 

' '  I  have  witnessed  some  good  resulting  from  my  tract  distributions  and  visits. 
Two  young  ladies  were  awakened  by  a  tract ;  one  of  them  has  made  a  profession  of 
religion.  A  handbill,  given  out  at  a  religious  meeting,  was  the  means  of  aAvaken- 
ing  a  young  man.  I  prevailed  on  a  Roman-catholic  lady  to  read  The  Dairyman's 
Daughter.  She  was  well  pleased  with  it." 

REPORT  OF  MR.  J.  S. 

"There  is  a  part  of  this  county  which,  for  years,  has  withstood  every  effort 
inade  to  enlighten  it.  Not  a  book  could  be  sold  nor  a  meeting  held,  so  high  did 
popular  prejudice  run  against  every  thing  good.  Not  very  long  ago,  a  young  man 
of  some  education  succeeded  in  getting  up  a  day-school  in  this  hard,  intemperate 
neighborhood.  Pretty  soon  he  proposed  forming  a  Debating  Society.  The  plan 
succeeded,  and  among  the  questions  was  this,  Which  is  worse,  war  or  intemperance  ? 
The  teacher  was  selected  to  discuss  the  evils  of  intemperance.  But  here  a  difficulty 
arose :  he  had  never  made  a  speech  in  his  life,  nor  read  any  thing  on  the  subject"; 

but  the  thought  occurred  that  Mr.  -* ,  an  intelligent  gentleman  in  an  adjoining 

neighborhood,  could  throw  some  light  into  his  mind.     So  he  went  to  Mr. and 

honestly  stated  the  case.  The  gentleman  told  him  that  he  had  the  Temperance 
Manual  and  Beech er's  Six  Sermons,  both  of  which  he  could  have.  He  got  the  books 
and  went  to  reading,  and  then  to  memorizing  Beecher,  until  he  had  a  fine  speech  ready. 
At  the  appointed  time,  a  great  number  turned  out  to  hear  the  discussion.  The 
young  man  was  eloquent  on  the  subject  he  had  to  treat.  The  people  were  astonished, 
;xnd  all  cried  out,  '  Where  did  you  get  that  ?'  The  young  orator  laid  down  his  laurels 
;it  Beecher' s  feet,  and  in  a  short  sime  I  sold  not  only  all  the  Beechers  I  had,  but  all 
my  temperance  documents,  and  quite  a  reformation  has  taken  place.  One  man 
who  would  not  buy  or  even  accept  of  a  book  for  his  family,  and  was  once  highly 
incensed  by  my  leaving  a  tract  for  him  to  read,  has  become  a  warm  friend  to  me 
und  my  work." 

REPORT  OF  REV.  W.  T. 

"If  I  understand  the  object  of  the  Committee  and  patrons  of  the  American 
Tract  Society  in  requiring  quarterly  and  annual  reports  of  their  colporteurs,  it  is  to 
ascertain  the  exact  moral  condition  of  the  people.  Were  I  to  portray  it,  the  half 
would  not  be  believed  by  some  who,  could  they  accompany  me  in  my  visits,  see 
what  I  see,  and  hear  what  I  hear,  would  be  ready  to  say,  like  the  queen  of  Sheba, 
•The  half  has  not  been  told.'  But  I  will  endeavor  to  give  a  general  view  of  my 

Held.  C county  is,  in  some  parts,  supplied  with  the  ministry  and  good  books, 

but  by  far  the  largest  portion  of  it  is  destitute  of  both.  Whole  neighborhoods 
know  nothing  about  religious  privileges,  and  many  people  do  not  hear  a  sermon 
for  years.  Some  of  them  tell  me  they  would  gladly  attend  church  if  they  could. 
And  I  have  preached  in  these  destitute  places  to  as  attentive,  respectful  listeners  as 
could  be  found  in  the  city,  but  they  are  not  rich  enough  to  support  a  minister, 
while  I  am  sure  they  would  willingly  help  to  do  so.  In  one  place  five  or  six  miles 
square,  there  is  not  a  single  professor  of  religion ;  and  I  have  been  told  there  are 
children  there  from  10  to  15  years  of  age,  who  never  heard  a  sermon  until  I  visited 
the  place.  But  one  sermon  had  been  preached  in  six  years,  and  that  was  a  funeral 
discourse.  I  cannot  but  hope  that  my  labors  among  these  people  will  be  produc- 
tive of  good. 

' '  Another  part  of  my  field  is  M county.  As  this  is  a  newly  settled  county, 

the  people  are  generally  poor,  and  having  to  clear  lands  and  build  houses,  they 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY.  17 

have  no  money  to  spare  yet  for  books,  or  even  to  support  the  ministry.  Here  and 
there  they  have  preaching  occasionally,  but  for  the  present  they  must  remain  with- 
out much  reading,  unless  it  is  granted  to  them  by  some  benevolent  society.  Some 
few  places  are  well  supplied  with  religious  books  and  ministers  and  churches ;  it 
has  perhaps  two  or  three  Sabbath-schools.  Many  families  live  on  the  mountains 
where  they  can  hardly  be  reached,  for  there  are  no  roads  to  their  little  cabins. 
Their  poverty  is  extreme ;  they  do  not  have  even  the  necessary  comforts  of  life. 
Now,  how  can  I  say  to  these  poor  people,  '  Will  you  buy  a  book  ?'  when  I  see  they 
can  hardly  live  ?  They  must  receive  charity  from  the  charitable.  My  next  field  of 

labor  was  A county.     Here  the  people  have  been  carefully  supplied  with  your 

books,  except  on  the  rugged  mountain  farms,  which  are  nearly  inaccessible.  In 
these  spots,  the  Sabbath  is  fearfully  violated.  There  is  a  great  want  of  preach- 
ers at  present  in  some  parts  of  this  county,  which  formerly  were  better  supplied.  I 
do  not  think  there  are  over  three  or  four  Sabbath-schools  in  the  county,  and  two 
of  these  are  at  the  court-house.  The  people  want  good  books,  but  money  is  scarce. 
My  sales  during  the  year  amounted  to  $291  70.  Grants,  $76  41." 

REPORT  OF  REV.  T.  R.  D. 

"  During  the  year  I  preached  forty-four  sermons  on  my  field  of  labor,  and  thirty- 
two  elsewhere,  and  nearly  one  hundred  persons  were  hopefully  converted,  almost 
all  of  whom  have  united  with  evangelical  churches.  We  are  well  supplied  with 
churches,  and  all  our  ministers  unite  heartily  in  the  cause.  But  notwithstanding 
churches  and  ministers,  pastoral  visitation  has  been  too  much  neglected.  On  vis- 
iting the  indigent  and  afflicted  and  destitute,  I  have  been  told  I  was  the  first 
preacher  who  had  ever  called  on  them.  With  such,  some  of  your  good  books  were 
left  to  aid  and  comfort  them  in  their  affliction  and  poverty. 

' '  A  number  of  persons  have  told  me  they  had  read  more  religious  books  since  I 
came  among  them  than  they  had  done  for  years,  and  several  have  been  awakened 
and  converted  through  their  instrumentality.  I  have  found  your  books  wonder- 
fully suited  to  every  condition,  and  adapted  to  lead  the  sinner  to  Christ.  Said  a 
lady,  '  Your  little  book,  ' Come  to  Jesus,'  is  worth  its  weight  in  gold.'  Well  might 
she  say  so,  for  it  had  been  the  chief  means  of  leading  her  to  God.  A  sceptical 
gentleman,  after  reading  the  Evidences  of  Christianity,  said,  'I  can  doubt  no 
more,  and  shall  henceforth  take  the  Bible  as  the  word  of  God.' 

' '  The  books  are  doing  good  wherever  they  are  circulated.  Sabbath-schools  have 
been  too  much  neglected,  but  I  hope  to  organize  several  as  soon  as  the  spring 
opens.  The  temperance  cause  advances  slowly,  but  steadily.  I  have  given  tracts 
and  books  on  this  subject  to  not  a  few,  and  with  good  results.  I  found  many  habit- 
ual drinkers  among  church-members,  and  with  such  I  used  every  effort,  and  some 
have  changed  their  views  and  habits.  I  rejoice  in  the  fact  that  there  are  but  few 
destitute  of  the  Bible  on  my  field,  yet  every  day  adds  new  evidence  of  the  neces- 
sity of  an  active  agency  in  this  part  of  the  state. ' ' 

REPORT  OF  MR.  R.  J.  P. 

"Were  I  to  draw  off  a  full  detail  of  the  ignorance  on  religious  subjects  that 
prevails  on  this  field,  it  would  scarce  be  credited.  The  destitution  of  good  books, 
the  little  regard  paid  to  the  Sabbath,  to  preaching,  to  Sabbath  and  day-schools  on 
one  part  of  my  field,  would  astonish  any  one ;  78  families  were  destitute  of  the 
Bible.  My  travels  were  very  laborious,  riding  and  walking  over  mountains,  some- 
times in  deep  ravines,  again  on  narrow  mountain-ridges.  I  spent  three  days  on 
the  mountains,  during  which  I  did  not  see  a  wagon-road  or  a  place  where  one  could 

3 


18  COLPORTAGE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

be  made.  No  colporteur  had  ever  been  there.  The  people  did  not  know  the  mean- 
ing of  the  word,  though  many  of  them  seemed  intelligent.  Many  of  their  chil- 
dren never  heard  a  sermon,  nor  entered  a  Sabbath-school.  My  time  was  almost 
exclusively  spent  among  the  mountains,  where  the  greatest  destitution  prevails. 

"I  will  record,  in  a  plain  way,  some  of  the  incidents  met  with  during  the  year, 
and  should  other  eyes  than  those  hitherto  turned  on  colporteur  reports  rest  on  this, 
may  they  be  the  means  of  opening  the  heart  of  the  new  reader  to  aid  in  sending 
out  the  light  of  truth  to  these  dark  places,  where  are  found  people  of  various 
nations  and  languages  at  the  Iron  works,  where  no  Sabbath  is  known,  nor  Sabbath- 
schools,  nor  preaching.  I  went,  by  request  of  the  proprietor  of  a  furnace,  among 
his  operatives,  and  distributed  tracts  and  books.  Many  of  them  had  no  Bibles,  nor 
hooks  of  any  kind.  He  kept  a  list  of  names  of  the  destitute,  and  intends  to  fur- 
nish them  with  books  at  his  own  expense. 

"I  travelled  also  among  the  an ti -mission  people.  Many  of  them  would  not 
buy,  nor  let  their  children  buy  books.  I  gave  a  catalogue  to  each  family,  and  one 
of  their  preachers  asked  for  the  History  of  the  Book-man,  as  they  of  the  mountains 
call  us,  and  I  gave  him  one,  and  a  copy  of  '  Home  Evangelization. '  He  since  told 
me  the  books  pleased  him  much.  Gave  some  tracts  to  an  aged  crippled  lady,  and 
to  her  daughter,  just  converted,  I  gave  Pike's  Guide.  The  old  lady  shed  tears  of 
gratitude  for  the  gift.  I  was  the  first  colporteur  that  had  visited  her,  and  no  min- 
ister had  ever  been  in  her  house  but  one,  who  had  performed  the  marriage  ceremony 
of  her  daughter.  One  old  anti-missionary  had  three  married  children  on  his  farm, 
all  with  families,  but  not  one  Bible  among  them. 

"An  old  blind  woman  asked  me  to  read  for  her.  She  said  the  Saints'  Ever- 
lasting Kest  had  been  the  means  of  her  seeking  religion  in  her  youth.  A  pious 
young  lady  attributes  her  awakening  to  Flavel's  Christ  Knocking  at  the  Door, 
which  she  bought  of  me.  A  minister,  in  one  of  his  late  sermons,  attributed  his 
conversion  to  Mason  on  Self-Knowledge,  and  said  every  man  ought  to  have  one. 
Another  said  my  books  and  tracts  were  doing  great  good  ;  that  families  now  sought 
religious  instruction  in  books,  particularly  the  younger  members,  and  that  his 
churches  increased  largely  last  year.  Another  minister  said  he  believed  the  Tract 
effort  had  awakened  a  warm  missionary  feeling  among  his  people." 

REPORT  OF  REY.  W.  E.  L. 

"I  have  met  with  much  kindness  in  H county.     I  met  with  a  man  who 

was  strongly  inclined  to  Romanism,  and  opposed  to  evangelical  religion.  Con- 
versed seriously  with  him,  and  finally  persuaded  him  to  buy  some  of  my  books.  I 
gee  him  frequently.  His  views  have  so  changed  that  he  aids  me  in  my  work  very 
much.  I  gave  the  Pictorial  Narratives  to  an  old  lady,  which  fell  into  the  hands  of 
A  young  woman,  who  on  reading  it  was  so  much  impressed  with  the  truth  that 
she  has,  from  being  very  thoughtless,  become  quite  serious.  I  sold  the  Sabbath 
Manual  to  a  man  who  was  in  the  habit  of  hunting  on  the  Sabbath.  He  could  not 
read,  but  his  family  read  it  to  him.  I  instructed  him  as  well  as  I  could.  He 
appears  to  be  a  changed  man." 

REPORT  OF  MR.  S.  R. 

"I  spent  four  months  in  B and  G counties,  where  I  found  much  des- 
titution. I  believe  the  blessing  of  the  Lord  follows  my  labors.  I  heard  of  a  num- 
ber of  men,  to  whom  I  distributed  books  and  tracts  last  year,  who  have  since  pro- 
fessed religion  and  bid  fair  to  become  pillars  in  the  church  of  God.  Met  a  drunken 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY.  19 

man  one  day  in  the  street  of  A ,  and  admonished  him  of  the  awful  consequences 

of  his  vice.  Sold  him  some  books,  and  exhorted  him  to  leave  off  sinning  and  turn 
to  God.  Some  time  ago  I  was  at  the  same  place,  at  a  religious  meeting  ;  this  man, 
came  up,  and  grasping  my  hand,  asked  if  I  recollected  him.  He  told  me  who  he 
was,  and  added,  '  Oh,  that  reproof  followed  me  night  and  day  ;  I  had  no  rest  till 
I  found  it  in  believing.'  He  is  now  in  the  church,  and  promises  to  be  highly 
useful.  The  destitution  in  R county  is  not  very  great,  except  along  the  rail- 
road lines,  Avhere  the  workmen,  and  their  families  are  grossly  ignorant  and  supersti- 
tious. They  are  all  under  priestly  influence,  and  reject  every  offer  made  to 
instruct  them  or  improve  their  social  condition.  I  made  a  great  effort  in  dis- 
tributing books  and  tracts  in  the  town  of  H ,  where  a  great  reformation  u» 

taking  place.  Have  been  laboring  in  a  revival  of  religion  for  two  weeks.  Sixty 
have,  been  hopefully  converted,  all  of  whom  have  united  with  their  favorite 
evangelical  churches." 

REPORT  OF  MR.  E.  C. 

"Not  having  been  long  in  this  work,  I  cannot  report  many  striking  facts.  I 
gave  a  tract  to  a  man  who,  after  looking  at  it,  threw  it  into  the  fire,  saying,  he 
'read  no  such  stuff'  as  that.  I  said,  'Perhaps  the  reading  of  that  tract  might 
have  been  the  means  of  saving  your  soul,'  and  left  him  in  the  hands  of  God.  He 
had  habitually  neglected  the  means  of  grace  up  to  that  time,  but  since  then  he 
has  attended  church  regularly,  does  not  use  profane  language,  and  I  am  informed 
by  his  friends  that  a  great  change  is  apparent  in  his  life.  He  acknowledged  his 
error  to  me,  said  he  had  not  believed  in  Christ,  but  that  he  now  knows  he  wa* 
wrong.  He  has  requested  me  to  give  him  tracts,  which  he  carefully  reads.  He 
was  a  strong  Universalist,  but  I  trust  his  faith  is  undergoing  a  radical  change. 

' '  I  met  another  Universalist,  who  had  not  only  avoided  divine  worship  for  eleven 
years,  but  refused  permission  to  his  children  to  attend,  and  handed  him  tracts 
which  he  refused  to  take*.  After  repeated  visits,  I  prevailed  on  him  to  read  a 
small  tract  suited  to  his  case.  On  my  next  visit  he  confessed  he  would  like  the 
tract,  if  it  were  true.  I  gave  him  other  tracts,  and  visit  him  often.  Last  week  he 
went  to  church  ;  yesterday  he  said  his  children  might  attend  Sunday-school. 

' '  I  found  a  poor  family  entirely  destitute  of  books.  They  were  utterly  ignorant 
of  every  thing  pertaining  to  salvation.  I  read  a  portion  of  Scripture,  conversed, 
and  then  prayed  with  them,  and  have  frequently  visited  them  since  for  the  same 
purpose.  The  poor  mother  seems  to  have  trembling  faith  and  hope  in  Christ,  which 
I  trust  may  strengthen  and  grow  brighter  and  brighter  until  she  shall  be  called  to 
a  home  in  heaven.  I  often  meet  with  similar  cases.  A  lady  informed  me  that  a 
tract  given  to  her  in  her  childhood  was,  under  God,  the  means  of  her  conversion. 
I  succeeded  in  persuading  two  Roman-catholic  families  to  receive  and  read  tracts. 
I  frequently  send  children  who  do  not  attend  Sabbath-school  to  the  various  school* 
of  our  city,  and  report  to  the  ministers  of  the  different  denominations  every  desti- 
tute unknown  member  of  such  churches,  or  any  who,  having  but  recently  come 
to  the  city,  are  still  unconnected  with  the  churches  to  which  they  ought  to 
belong. 

"My  field,  embracing  both  N and  P ,  is  large,  and  one  heretofore 

greatly  neglected.  While  I  must  confess  that  I  meet  with  some  discouragements,  yet 
in  the  prosecution  of  my  labors  there  are  not  a  few  things  highly  encouraging, 
and  I  can  truly  say  that  I  feel  an  increasing  interest  in  my  work.  The  people  ol 
all  denominations,  except  a  few  Roman-catholics,  have  received  me  with  the 
utmost  kindness  and  respect,  and  I  have  been  somewhat  cheered  in  my  work  by 


20  COLPORTAGE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

seeing,  as  I  trust,  that  my  labors  are  not  wholly  in  vain.     Some  families,  for  years 
neglectful  of  public  worship,  have  been  induced  to  attend  church. 

"I  find  seamen  anxious  to  possess  tracts.  Often  as  I  approach  a  vessel  I  hear  a 
demand  for  tracts  from  those  who  fear  I  will  overlook  them  in  the  distribution." 

REPORT  OF  REV.  H.  J.  H. 

"Although  my  sales  have  been  much  larger  than  at  first  anticipated,  I  trust 
much  good  has  been  effected  by  other  means.  I  found  some  least  expected,  ready 
to  hear,  cheerfully  to  receive  instructions  and  books,  and  even  to  buy  them.  These 
cases  were  the  more  encouraging  as  they  were  wholly  unlooked  for.  Called  on  one 
Catholic  family,  who  bought  largely  and  seemed  highly  pleased  with  the  books,  and 
gratified  by  the  visit.  Found  eight  others,  six  of  whom  had  no  Bible.  Three  only 
would  receive  the  precious  volumes,  their  church  not  permitting  them.  On  the 
second  Sabbath  preached  and  administered  the  Lord's  supper  to  the  colored  people. 
An  interesting  day.  This  people  seem  more  ready  to  receive  instruction  than  the 
whites.  With  warm  hearts  they  welcome  me  and  attentively  listen  to  the  word  of 
life.  Seven  or  eight  years  ago  I  supplied  an  old  lady  with  a  Bible.  I  recently 
called  to  see  her  and  with  marked  pleasure  she  produced  the  much-used  treasure, 
saying,  '  Here  is  the  book  you  loaned  me  so  many  years  ago.  Nothing  could  induce 
me  to  part  with  it.'  I  gave  her  'Isabella  Graham,'  and  her  unaffected  gratitude 
would  have  touched  even  a  cold  heart.  I  have  taken  special  pains  to  carry  out 
my  '  instructions '  to  visit  the  poor,  the  sick,  and  the  afflicted,  not  because  I  was 
required  to  do  so,  for  I  long  since  learnt  by  experience  that  it  is  better  to  go  to  the 
house  of  mourning  than  to  the  house  of  feasting." 

REPORT  OF  MR.  J.  W.  M. 

"I  visited  a  poor  widow  with  four  daughters,  one  of  whom  never  went  to 
church.  I  conversed  and  prayed  with  her.  On  the  next  Sabbath  she  attended 
church.  She  told  her  mother  she  never  would  miss  another  Sabbath-meeting,  if 
she  could  help  it.  Found  another  widow  with  four  little  children,  and  no  Bible  or 
any  religious  book. 

"Called  on  a  man  of  wealth  who  yet  possessed  not  the  'true  riches.'  As  I 

prayed  and  talked  to  him  he  wept  like  a  child.  Said  he,  '  Mr.  M ,  you  are  the 

first  person  that  ever  came  to  my  house  to  pray  with  me. '  ' ' 

REPORT  OF  REV.  H.  T. 

"The  people  are  generally  very  kind,  though  irreligious.  The  children,  though 
very  ignorant,  are  anxious  to  buy  my  pretty  books,  and  often  burst  into  tears  when 
their  parents  refuse  to  purchase  books  for  them.  The  intelligent  men  of  this  com- 
munity do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  the  Tract  Society  is  doing  inestimable  good. 
There  is  great  destitution  on  this  field.  I  have  seen  but  three  churches  in  all  my 
travels.  I  sometimes  fear  I  am  too  liberal  in  granting  what  is  not  my  own.  Please 
instruct  me  in  regard  to  making  grants  to  the  many  poor  people  I  meet  with." 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY.  21 

EXTRACTS  FROM  REPORTS  OF  COLPORTEURS 
IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

REPORT  OF  MR.  J.  R.  B. 

"Seven  months  have  elapsed  since  I  engaged  in  this  work  as  an  humble  col- 
porteur, during  which  I  have  witnessed  many  soul-cheering  scenes  as  well  as  many 
hard  trials,  and  I  now  feel  that  I  did  the  best  I  could  for  the  Society. 

"I  found  many  families  not  one  of  whom  could  read,  and  many  that  could  read 
had  no  books,  not  even  Bibles.  Tract  Primers  and  small  books  were  circulated 
among  all  on  my  first  visit,  and  on  my  second  I  found  that  some  of  the  children 
had  committed  nearly  the  whole  to  memory.  One  poor  widow  thanked  God  that 
I  had  been  sent  that  way,  for  her  children  were  evidently  improving  much  from 
their  new  books.  We  have  just  closed  a  series  of  meetings  which  resulted  in  the 
hopeful  conversion  of  eighteen  or  twenty  persons.  I  was  present  at  the  meetings 
for  five  days  and  nights." 

REPORT  OF  MR.  S.  L.  R. 

' '  During  the  month  of  September  I  was  engaged  in  a  revival  of  religion,  which 
resulted  in  the  hopeful  conversion  of  twenty  souls.  I  distributed  a  good  many 
tracts  among  the  people,  which  I  believe  resulted  in  good.  Last  week  I  visited  a 
portion  of  the  county  containing  many  Roman-catholic  families.  I  conversed  and 
distributed  all  the  tracts  I  had,  which  were  kindly  accepted,  and  many  requested 
Bibles.  I  promised  to  visit  them  soon  again.  Last  Sabbath  I  succeeded  in  form- 
ing a  Sabbath-school  at  a  place  called  H ,  in  this  county.  Formerly  it  was 

noted  for  the  dissipation  of  its  people,  but  now  there  is  apparently  a  disposition  to 
reform.  Efforts  are  making  to  build  a  church,  which  will  probably  be  accomplished 
this  spring.  I  shall  visit  the  place  again  in  a  week  or  two.  One  individual  who 
sold  ardent  spirits  has  concluded  to  quit  it. 

"I  visited  a  family  composed  of  three  females.  The  mother  and  one  daughter 
were  irreligious,  and  both  growing  old.  I  exhorted  and  prayed  with  them.  Both 
heard  me  gladly.  They  had  110  Bible,  and  were  unable  to  purchase.  I  gave  them 
one  and  tracts,  which  were  thankfully  received.  I  hope  that  by  divine  assistance 
I  shall  accomplish  much  more  the  present  than  I  did  the  past  year." 

REPORT  OF  REV.  W.  J.  B. 

"There  is  much  destitution  of  evangelical  preaching  in  some  portions  of  my 
field,  but  these  will  probably  be  better  supplied  shortly.  Some  brethren  in  my 
own  communion  treat  me  with  cold  indifference,  because  I  am  engaged  in  the  com- 
mon cause  of  our  common  Lord,  but  I  adore  his  great  name  that  his  presence  has 
been  with  me.  May  the  God  of  all  grace  direct  and  enable  us  to  discharge  our 
several  duties  for  the  sake  of  his  dear  Son." 

REPORT  OF  REV.  E.  G. 

' '  I  have  served  the  Society  six  months  and  seven  days,  visited  eight  hundred 
families,  sold  to  the  value  of  $185  80,  and  granted  $45.  Addressed  thirty-three 
meetings ;  found  167  families  destitute  of  religious  books,and  sixty-six  destitute  of 
the  Bible.  My  field  of  labor  the  last  quarter  presented  a  sad  picture  to  a  Christian, 
owing  to  the  lack  of  gospel  preaching ;  for,  although  every  one  disposed  to  do  so, 


22  COLPORTAGE  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

may  hear  preaching  occasionally  in  nearly  every  neighborhood,  yet,  I  am  deeply 
grieved  to  say  it  does  not  deserve  the  name  of  gospel-preaching.  It  is  anti- 
missionary  preaching.  Here  I  had  to  contend  with  violent  prejudices  against  our 
books,  especially  among  the  ministers.  One  of  them  said  our  books  ought  to  be 
burnt.  Of  course  there  is  a  want  of  education  in  this  district,  but  there  is  now  a 
prospect  of  better  days  in  this  respect.  Some  Sabbath-schools  are  kept  up  in  the 
warm  season ;  and  our  youth  are  much  interested  in  our  books,  and  beg  their  parents, 
even  in  tears,  to  buy  for  them.  Elsewhere  our  books  are  gladly  received  by  parents 
and  children,  particularly  among  the  very  poor.  I  have  seen  them  lay  out  their 
last  dime  for  books,  even  taking  the  silver  bit  suspended  from  their  children's 
necks  for  this  purpose.  One  woman  sent  her  son  to  borrow  money  to  buy  books 
for  her  children,  and  obtained  it ;  but  not  yet  satisfied,  she  and  her  son  went  with 
me  on  my  way,  and  borrowed  more  money  to  purchase  a  book  for  herself  and  hus- 
band. Intemperance  has  hitherto  been  a  formidable  foe  to  our  work,  but  even 
here  I  am  encouraged  by  the  formation  of  Temperance  Societies.  I  visited  a  wealthy 
family,  the  master  of  which  was  a  hard  drinker.  I  talked  to  him  on  the  subject  of 
temperance,  and  prayed  with  him.  He  and  his  wife  have  signed  the  pledge.  One 
of  their  sons  is,  I  learn,  rejoicing  in  God.  Visited  a  very  intemperate  neighbor- 
hood and  left  a  Manual  with  a  man  opposed  to  temperance  ;  since  that  tune  I  learn 
that  the  whole  community  has  abandoned  the  use  of  ardent  spirits,  using  coffee  in 
place  of  whiskey  to  refresh  them  while  at  work. 

"A  very  respectable  dealer  and  manufacturer  of  ardent  spirits  has  abandoned 
the  traffic  altogether,  and  I  rejoice  that  one  who  is  so  generally  regarded  with 
esteem,  will  hereafter  use  all  his  influence  on  the  side  of  morality. 

"Notwithstanding  much  coldness  among  Christians  here,  there  have  been  some 
conversions  during  the  year,  and  I  have  had  some  highly  interesting  meetings. 
There  is  still  great  destitution,  and  people  receive  our  books  thankfully  and 
read  and  weep  over  them." 

REPORT  OF  REV.  E.  K.  B. 

' '  I  have  spent  seven  months  in  your  service  during  the  year,  sold  books  to  the 
value  of  $168  57,  and  granted  $22  13.  Addressed  63  meetings,  and  prayed  with 
101  families.  Total  number  of  families  visited,  leaving  out  second  visits,  683, 
of  whom  83  were  destitute  of  the  Bible,  and  81  others  had  no  religious  books  but 
the  Bible.  There  are  churches  belonging  to  five  or  six  denominations  of  Christians 
in  this  county,  and  the  people  are  well  supplied  with  preaching.  Many  professors 
of  religion  oppose  not  only  the  Society's  publications,  but  missions,  and  the  tem- 
perance reform.  All  this  is  poor  encouragement  to  the  colporteur,  yet,  while  wit- 
nessing many  discouraging  scenes,  we  have  some  pleasant,  refreshing  seasons. 
Sometimes,  after  toiling  without  success  among  people  that  have  good  advantages, 
we  become  discouraged ;  and  then  discover  a  family  for  whom  none  seemed  to  care, 
and  find  them  anxious  to  procure,  though  unable  to  purchase  books.  We  are  made 
to  rejoice  that  the  Lord  put  it  into  the  hearts  of  his  people  to  engage  in  a  plan  by 
which  the  poor,  ignorant,  destitute,  and  hitherto  neglected  might  be  supplied  with 
gospel  truth  in  print,  and  be  instructed  by  his  servants  in  the  way  of  salvation. 
I  visited  a  cabin  among  the  mountains,  where  I  found  only  a  sickly  looking  boy 
about  twelve  j^ears  old.  He  said  his  mother  and  one  sister  and  himself  composed 
the  entire  family.  His  father  had  been  a  drinking  man,  and  years  ago  had  left 
them  to  take  care  of  themselves,  since  which  they  had  not  heard  of  him.  His 
mother  was  abroad  quilting  for  a  lady  in  the  neighborhood,  in  order  to  procure 
food  for  herself  and  children.  The  little  fellow  was  much  pleased  with  my  books  : 
he  said  they  had  none  but  a  Testament,  which  a  good  man  had  given  to  his  mother. 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY.  23 

He  also  said  they  went  to  church  on  Sundays,  the  only  time  his  mother  could  spare. 
I  instructed  the  poor  boy  how  to  spend  this  life  in  order  to  enjoy  the  next.  He 
understood  me  very  well,  and  promised  to  prepare  for  death.  I  gave  him  a  book, 
and  left  some  tracts  for  his  mother  and  sister,  which  he  received  most  gratefully. 
May  God  send  comfort  to  all  such  poor  families. ' ' 

REPORT  OF  MR.  T.  E.  H. 

1 1 1  have  seen  many  pleasant  hours  wfyile  visiting  from  house  to  house,  convers- 
ing with  the  people  about  their  souls,  and  distributing  among  them  the  precious 
truths  contained  in  the  tract  publications ;  and  I  am  gratified  to  learn  from  some 
portions  of  my  field,  that  my  labors-  have  been  blessed  to  the  awakening  and  hope- 
ful conversion  of  some  souls.  I  attended  several  large  meetings  during  the  year, 
and  my  soul  was  often  refreshed.  Though  my  sales  were  noL  as  large  as  I  desired, 
I  am  convinced  that  the  books  and  tracts  circulated  have  accomplished  good.  I 
would  say  in  conclusion,  that  there  is  great  need  of  colporteur  labors,  especially 
in  one  part  of  my  field,  and  hope  the  Lord  will  make  me  more  efficient  in  his 
service." 

REPORT  OF  MR.  W.  T.  H.  E. 

' '  Your  agent  has  visited  920  families  in  eight  months,  conversed  on  personal 
religion  or  prayed  with  726  families,  embracing  4,356  souls  ;  found  112  families  des- 
titute of  all  religious  books  but  the  Bible,  and  34  destitute  of  the  Bible  ;  147  families 
habitually  neglected  evangelical  preaching.  Circulated  by  sale  1,114  volumes,  to 
the  value  of  $263  27 ;  and  books  and  tracts  as  grants  to  the  amount  of  $59  16, 
have  been  scattered  as  bread  on  the  waters,  to  be  found  after  many  days. 

"The  groggery  at  Brunswick  ferry,  where  I  met  so  much  opposition,  closed  in 
about  a  month  after  my  first  visit,  and  is  yet  closed.  If  they  would  all  close,  this 

would  be  a  happier  county.  Old  Mr.  M •  is  a  regular  attendant  at  church, 

which  he  did  not  enter  for  years  until  he  was  conversed  with  on  the  subject. 
4  Come  to  Jesus'  brought  that  lady  into  the  church,  and  the  two  little  boys  I  hired 
to  learn  are  reading  now.  The  man  who  promised  to  quit  selling  liquor  has  done 
so,  and  is  now  a  member  of  the  church.  In  one  destitute  neighborhood  where 
there  was  no  day-school  a  year  ago,  the  children  now  walk  two  and  three  miles 
to  learn  to  read  in  the  picture-book  the  book-man  gave  them.  In  the  village  of 

S a  Sabbath-school  is  conducted  by  a  pious  lady,  who  devotes  all  her  energies 

to  the  religious  instruction  of  her  pupils.  As  I  stood  on  the  piazza,  and  listened 
to  the  fervent  prayer  of  that  devoted  Christian  and  teacher,  I  thought  that,  were 
such  teachers  scattered  throughout  the  land,  the  wilderness  would  indeed  be  made 
to  rejoice,  and  the  desert  to  blossom  as  the  rose. 

"I  got  one  man  to  buy  the  'Tract  Primer'  for  his  children,  four  in  number, 
their  ages  varying  from  five  to  twelve  years.  Not  one  of  them  could  tell  who 
made  them.  Here  was  a  young  woman  who  never  heard  a  sermon  or  saw  a 
preacher  till  she  was  seventeen  years  of  age,  and  her  sister  was  fourteen  when  she 
first  heard  a  sermon.  This  family  are  now  regular  attendants  on  public  worship, 
and  have  been  carefully  instructed  in  the  gospel.  The  book,  '  Universalism  not  of 
God,'  has  done  much  good  among  Universalists,  and  is  sought  after  eagerly. 

"Your  publications  supersede  those  of  a  demoralizing  character  on  this  field. 
With  but  few  exceptions,  the  people  do  not  enjoy  the  preached  word  more  than 
once  a  month ;  in  some  neighborhoods  but  once  in  three  months,  and  in  others 
once  a  year.  Sunday-schools  are  rare.  This  spring,  however,  I  believe  increased 
interest  will  be  felt  in  this  cause,  and  that  many  new  Sabbath-schools  will  be 


24  COLPORTAGE  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

organized.  The  colporteur  enterprise  just  suits  this  community.  It  is  the  only 
way  by  which  numbers  of  families  can  be  reached  by  the  gospel. 

"I  attended  the  Colporteur  Convention  held  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina, 
according  to  previous  instruction.  It  was  the  first  time  I  have  had  the  privilege 
of  being  present  at  such  a  meeting,  and  I  must  say  that  if  there  be  one  place  on 
earth  more  like  heaven  than  another,  that  is  the  place  where  none  but  Christ  and 
him  crucified  is  known ;  all  being  engaged  in  the  one  great  work  of  bringing 
souls  to  Christ — though  of  different  denominations,  yet  one  in  Christ.  This  Con- 
vention represented  by  eight  different  sects,  united  in  the  same  mission  of  love, 
working  together  against  error  in  every  form  and  by  every  name,  presented  a 
picture  on  which  one  could  gaze  with  admiration,  and  exclaim,  '  Behold  how 
good  and  how  pleasant  a  thing  it  is  for  brethren  to  dwell  together  in  unity  "- 
union  of  soul,  union  pf  purpose — the  glory  of  God  in  the  salvation  of  man.  After 
attending  this  Convention  I  feel  strengthened  in  purpose  to  toil  on  in  this  blessed 
work  as  long  as  the  providence  of  God  will  permit,  even  until  life  expires." 

REPORT  OF  REV.  J.  F.  M. 

"  My  field  for  the  most  part  is  destitute  of  all  religious  books,  churches,  schools, 
and  the  gospel,  with  here  and  there  a  green  spot  to  refresh  the  hearts  of  the  friends 

of  Zion.     I  have  visited  every  family  in  W county,  and  many  in  H — 

Generally  I  found  ready  sale  for  my  books  as  soon  as  the  people  became  acquainted 
with  the  object  of  the  Society  and  the  volumes  ;  and  all  who  can  read,  read  them 
thoroughly,  with  few  exceptions.  The  country  here  is  unhealthy.  The  water  is 
bad,  and  swarms  of  niosquitos,  gnats,  and  flies  annoy  man  and  beast,  night  and 
day,  for  six  or  seven  months  in  the  year.  Though  the  lands  are  rich  and  very  pro- 
ductive, and  an  abundance  of  grain  is  raised,  and  provision  of  all  kinds,  yet  I  find 
many  poor  and  afflicted  persons.  The  people  in  many  places  believe  in  signs,  con- 
jurers, charms,  and  witchcraft.  To  some  one  of  these  they  attribute  all  their  good 
or  bad  luck,  and  in  action  deny  the  providence  of  God,  for  many  people  resort  to 
these  charmers  and  conjurers  to  cure  their  diseases.  I  gave  one  of  these  charmers 
the  tract,  '  It  is  I,'  which  he  read,  and  he  is  now  ashamed  of  his  art,  and  gives  God 
the  power  and  glory  of  all  things.  I  visited  a  poor  woman  whose  husband  had 
spent  every  thing  she  had,  and  then  tried  to  starve  her  to  death,  and  had  often 
beaten  her.  A  few  years  ago  she  was  worth  $25,000,  but  now  she  is  left  in  the 
care  of  a  poor  family.  I  talked  with  her  about  her  soul,  and  read  '  It  is  I,'  and 
prayed ;  she  said  she  had  never  prayed,  nor  had  any  one  ever  spoken  on  religious 
subjects  to  her  before.  I  instructed  her  as  faithfully  as  I  could,  and  left  her  bent 
on  seeking  God. 

"I  visited  many  families  that  spent  the  Sabbath  fishing,  etc.  Found  a  sick 
man  who  rejoiced  to  see  me.  He  had  read  a  handbill,  'Caution,'  which  had 
brought  him  to  consider.  He  was  very  happy.  I  sold  '  Acquaintance  with  God ' 
to  a  drinking  family.  They  reformed  their  lives,  and  have  joined  the  church. 
They  shed  tears  of  joy  every  time  I  meet  them,  and  will  ride  twenty  miles  to 
church  on  ths  Sabbath  or  week-days.  Visited  a  man  of  some  wealth  who  drank, 
and  was  very  profane.  He  would  neither  let  me  show  my  books  nor  pray.  I  left 
'  Come  to  Jesus '  with  him.  On  my  next  visit  I  found  him  dying.  He  grasped 
my  hand,  and  looking  up  motioned  for  me  to  pray.  His  wife  bought  some  tracts, 
became  concerned  about  her  soul,  and  is  now  a  happy  Christian.  All  this  was 
accomplished  solely  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  tract  volumes.  I  visited 
a  poor  boy,  and  sold  him  a  '  Tract  Primer.'  Encouraged  him  to  learn  to  read,  and 
obtained  the  assistance  of  a  lady  to  teach  him.  Now  he  reads  well,  attends  church, 
and  is  hopefully  converted.  About  thirty  more  who  did  not  know  a  letter,  have 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY.  25 

learned  to  read  since  I  sold  or  gave  them  the  '  Tract  Primer.'  I  visited  a  rum-shop 
kept  by  a  young  man.  While  there,  he  was  selling  and  sending  off  rum  in  bottles 
and  jugs.  I  told  him  a  plan  had  just  occurred  to  me  by  which  he  might  be  useful, 
and  God  would  certainly  bless  him  if  he  were  to  follow  it.  He  asked  how.  I 
pulled  out  a  packet  of  handbills,  and  told  him  to  put  one  on  every  jug  and  bottle 
he  sent  off,  for  they  might  convert  some  soul,  which  would  be  a  star  in  his  crown. 
He  looked  serious,  took  the  handbills  and  some  tracts,  and  in  a  short  time  closed 
his  shop,  and  is  now  a  teacher. 

' '  I  called  on  a  woman  who  sold  whiskey,  and  talked  to  her  about  her  soul.  She 
shed  tears  freely,  and  said  she  had  been  seeking  religion  for  some  time,  but  to  no 
purpose.  I  asked  if  she  did  not  think  it  was  wrong  to  sell  liquor.  She  finally 
said  it  was.  I  gave  her  'Come  to  Jesus.'  She  quit  selling,  and  now  appears 
to  be  a  Christian.  Gave  an  Iron-side  Baptist,  a  great  anti-missionary  man,  a  tract 
on  missions ;  he  has  since  changed  his  views,  and  goes  for  missionary  efforts  and 
books.  I  have  organized  several  Sabbath-schools,  which  are  in  successful  operation ; 
also  several  day-schools  and  prayer-meetings.  For  nearly  two  months,  when  every 
pastor  had  left,  and  every  one  who  could  leave  had  gone  to  healthier  regions,  God 
gave  me  health  and  strength  to  visit  the  sick  and  the  dying.  Many  a  poor  dying 
man  and  woman,  white  and  colored,  with  streaming  eyes  thanked  me  and  the 
Society,  arid  praised  God  as  I  read  '  Come  to  Jesus,'  or  '  It  is  I,'  or  some  appropriate 
tract  or  chapter.  All  through  this  trying  time  God  kept  me  in  good  health  and 
happy  from  day  to  day.  I  met  with  much  rough  usage  from  sectarians,  but  now 
Christians  are  more  united.  Political  men  opposed  to  public  improvements  have 
for  the  first  time  failed.  Two  years  ago  a  man  opposed  to  the  free-school  system 
was  elected  to  office,  but  last  year  one  who  advocates  it  got  the  same  office  by  a 
majority  of  votes.  Over  fifty  persons  professed  conversion  through  reading  your 
volumes,  and  as  many  more  from  our  labors.  Some  Roman-catholics  tell  me  they 
are  more  and  more  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  trusting  alone  in  Jesus  for  sal- 
vation." 

REPORT  OF  MR.  J.  N.  A. 

1 '  For  a  report  of  the  past  year,  we  will  go  to  N county  and  revisit  some  of 

the  families  we  saw  two  years  ago.     Here  is  the  family  of  Mr.  E.  H ,  kind  and 

social.  Here  is  the  Bible  depository.  Here  also  is  a  store,  and  in  an  adjoining 
room  a  table  with  a  decanter  of  native  made  brandy  ;  beside  the  decanter  is  a  tum- 
bler, and  beside  the  tumbler  a  pack  of  cards.  This  is  a  place  of  trade,  of  drinking, 

and  of  gaming.     From  here  go  to  Mr.  A ;  he  is  at  home  this  evening,  and 

kindly  asks  us  to  lodge  with  him ;  he  is  a  man  of  some  property  and  good  educa- 
tion, but  is  not  pious,  yet  he  buys  a  good  lot  of  books.  Go  from  him  to  J.  C ; 

he  is  a  pious  man  with  a  large  family  ;  when  here  before  he  was  not  at  home ;  he 

got  fifteen  books.     Then  to  old  Mr.  P :  before,  I  found  him  without  a  Bible, 

but  sold  him  one,  and  two  or  three  books.  To-day  he  is  glad  to  see  me ;  sent  to 
the  field  for  his  boys,  and  collected  his  family  for  prayer ;  bought  a  large  lot  of 
books,  and  is  now  deeply  interested  in  the  improvement  of  his  family.  This  even- 
ing there  is  a  shooting-match,  near  which  I  stop  an  hour,  and  there  I  sell  twenty 

books.    Then  go  to  Mr. 's  to  lodge.    He  is  a  good  man,  with  a  nice  family. 

Next  morning  go  over  into  the  turpentine  forest ;  here  I  go  into  the  cabins,  and 
sitting  down  on  a  stool,  talk  to  the  wife  and  children  ;  then  going  out,  give  a  long 
he-oh-ah,  and  hear  an  answer  out  in  the  woods.  Presently  the  husband  and  father 
comes  in,  very  dirty  and  ragged,  but  he  has  money,  and  if  you  talk  to  him  about 
Christ  and  pray  with  him,  he  buys  ten  books. 

"But  as  I  must  go  to  the  Convention  at  Wilmington,  the  superintendent 


26  COLPORTAGE  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

advises  me  to  take  a  box  of  books  and  get  there  a  week  before  the  Convention,  to 
distribute  as  many  as  I  can.  So  when  I  got  there,  I  took  my  basket  full  of  books 
and  visited  120  families,  and  distributed  books  and  tracts  along  the  wharves. 
There  several  valuable  acquaintances  were  formed,  and  two  or  three  good  prayer- 
meetings  were  attended. 

"This — Wilmington — has  since  been  my  field.  Here  are  examples  of  devoted 
piety  as  well  as  extreme  vice.  The  families  of  the  city  afford  good  employment 
when  shipping  is  scarce,  and  the  wharf  is  an  ever-new  field  of  interest  and  of  effort. 
Here  you  meet  a  man  of  education,  who  can  appreciate  a  good  book.  The  hardy 
mariner  is  here  to  receive  his  tract  or  book,  and  the  hard-working  boatman  gets  a 
book  for  his  family ;  while  the  raftsman  fills  the  pockets  of  his  great-coat,  and  starts 
for  his  native  forest.  Seventy-five  men  are  at  work  in  yon  shops ;  you  tell  them 
you  will  be  there  at  dinner-hour  to-morrow,  and  when  you  go  you  find  twenty 
or  more  of  them  have  brought  their  dinner  to  the  shop,  so  as  to  save  time  to  see 
the  books.  A  Testament  with  Notes,  a  Pilgrim's  Progress,  Baxter's  Call,  Nelson, 
Atonement,  Young  Man,  Line  upon  Line,  Nevins,  Pictorial  Narratives,  etc.  In 
these  shops  I  have  sold  sixty  books  in  one  day.  The  foremen  encourage  their  men 
to  read,  and  often  aid  in  their  selection.  From  here  you  can  call  on  a  long  street 
of  shops,  where  you  will  see  a  rum-shop  ;  you  can  look  in  and  leave  a  tract.  The 
next  time  the  keeper  invites  you  in,  and  you  can  leave  'Come  to  Jesus,'  or  a  tract. 
After  a  while  you  may  ask  him  to  tack  up  '  Set  down  that  Glass '  on  his  bar,  and 
then  get  the  Temperance  Manual.  Thus  you  come  on  by  degrees,  and  after  a 
while  you  have  a  good  stock  of  temperance  reading  there. 

"This  morning  visit  Mrs.  P .     She  thinks  she  does  not  need  any  books; 

her  children  do  not  incline  to  reading,  but  on  Saturday  I  went  again,  hoping  to 
see  the  children.  In  this  way  I  got  them  to  see  my  books,  and  was  soon  able  to 
suit  their  taste  with  a  quantity  of  books.  It  is  the  mother  who  does  not  care  for 
books.  Here  is  a  family  of  orphan  children.  They  are  poor,  but  respectable. 
Here  a  brother  bought  Baxter's  Call ;  the  sister  was  anxiously  inquiring.  She  read 
'Come  to  Jesus,'  and  her  darkness  was  dispelled  and  she  trusts  in  Christ.  Polly 

J is  a  free  colored  woman  and  decidedly  pious,  she  acts  as  agent  among  her 

own  people,  and  has  aided  me  much  in  my  work.  This  pious  mother  will  make 
another  shirt  to  get  books  for  her  children.  It  was  a  warm  day  when  I  called  on 

Mrs.  N ;  she  stood  in  the  door  and  told  me  she  wanted  no  books.     '  Times  were 

too  hard  to  buy  any  thing.'  A  weak  voice  in  the  room  said,  '  Oh  mother,  ask  him 
in.'  This  she  did  very  coldly,  but  I  went  in.  At  the  window  sat  a  pale  looking 
girl,  who  though  unable  to  set  me  a  chair,  made  me  feel  quite  at  home  by  her  kind, 
pleasant  inquiries  about  my  work,  and  we  bowed  at  the  throne  of  grace.  The 
manifestations  of  God's  presence  filled  the  house.  During  this  short  time  the 
mother  got  able  to  buy  seven  books. 

"Two  Sabbath-schools  have  been  organized  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city,  but  one 
of  them  had  to  be  given  up  for  want  of  a  suitable  room  for  winter  use.  The  other 
does  well.  The  ministers  all  approve  of  and  aid  the  tract  cause,  except  the  Catho- 
lic priest,  and  to  many  of  his  people  I  have  sold  books,  while  to  others  I  loaned 
them,  some  of  which  I  have  taken  in  exchange  for  others,  and  again  with  others 
I  leave  a  few  till  my  next  visit.  Some  of  the  Catholic  families  read  well,  and  in 
several  cases  the  parents  permitted  me  to  loan  books  to  the  children,  which  I 
exchange  from  time  to  time. 

"The  wharf  is  the  place  where  we  meet  with  more  success  than  in  families,  and 
of  eleven  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  books  disposed  of  in  the  place,  three  fifths  were 
left  on  Water-street.  Here  is  a  captain,  there  is  a  mate,  and  yonder  is  a  common 
seaman,  who  each  in  his  turn  wants  a  book  or  a  tract.  A  clerk  wants  '  Young 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY.  27 

Man  from  Home.'  There  is  a  boatman  not  so  busy  as  usual :  '  Good  morning,  cap- 
tain ;  what  books  this  time  ?'  Look  in  my  basket,  '  Faith  Explained '  and  '  Letters 
on  Universalism.' '  'Well,  I '11  take  these  to  get  clear  of  you,  but  you  need  never 
come  to  me  to  sell  books  again.  I  can  read  these  through  this  morning.'  After 
this  as  I  passed  along  the  wharf,  I  saw  the  captain  sitting  on  the  side  of  his  boat 
reading,  while  three  of  his  men  sat  listening.  '  Well,  captain,  how  are  you  pleased 
with  your  books?'  'This  one  about  faith  is  a  first-rate  thing.  I  hav'n't  read  the 
other  yet.  I  heard  Archer  preach  last  year  about  faith,  and  I  thought  I  would  try 
and  get  religion,  but  I  hav'n't  yet.'  'What  books  to-day?'  'Fountain  of  Life.' 
'  Is  that  a  good  book  ?'  '  Yes,  and  here  is  the  mate  of  it,  '  Method  of  Grace.' '  '  I  '11 
buy  them  books,  and  try  to  read  more  and  quit  swearing.'  Here  is  a  man  rolling 
turpentine  barrels  out  of  the  water  where  it  is  more  than  knee  deep,  and  there  he 
stands  to  look  at  a  'Testament  and  Psalms  with  Notes,'  'Line  upon  Line'  and 
'  Precept  upon  Precept '  for  his  children.  He  is  a  poor  man  ;  gave  him  some  tracts 
to  carry  home.  An  inspector  says,  'Do  you  notice  how  the  people  have  quit 
swearing,  since  you  began  to  distribute  books  and  tracts  ?'  Yonder  are  six  men  on 
a  raft  getting  breakfast,  two  of  them  are  pious  fathers.  Eat  a  piece  of  corn-bread 
and  fat  meat  with  them,  and  then  sell  $4  worth  of  books.  These  go  seventy-five 
miles.  To-day  was  on  nine  large  and  five  small  vessels ;  conversed  with  forty- 
eight  persons,  thirteen  of  whom  were  profane,  twenty-seven  moral  and  respectable, 

and  apparently  pious.     Sales,  $8  20.     To-day  dined  with  Captain  D ;  he  is  a 

pious  man,  who  is  here  frequently.  To-day  visited  twenty-one  families  :  thirteen 
had  good  libraries,  six  had  few  good  books,  two  had  no  Bible  ;  fifteen  of  the  mothers 
pious,  and  seventeen  of  the  children  church-members.  One  of  these  mothers  is  a 
tract  distributer,  and  two  of  them  Sunday-school  teachers.  Visited  ten  families, 
of  five  different  communions.  Sold  books  to  all,  and  think  all  Christians  meet  at 
the  same  throne  of  grace.  Saturday  visited  thirteen  vessels,  conversed  with  forty 
men ;  eight  appear  pious,  twenty-six  moral,  and  six  very  profane.  One  captain 
told  me  he  wanted  no  books,  he  had  no  time  to  read,  but  his  cook  was  so  good  a 
man  that  he  did  all  the  reading  and  praying  on  the  vessel.'  'Then  you  think 
there  is  such  a  thing  as  being  pious?'  'Certainly  I  do.  No  man  can  go  on  a 
voyage  with  yon  man,  and  not  be  convinced  of  that  fact.'  '  I  would  like  to  con- 
verse with  him,  sir,  with  your  permission.'  'Certainly,'  and  the  captain  kindly 
walked  with  me  to  the  galley,  and  told  the  steward  who  I  was  and  what  had 
brought  me  aboard ;  and  while  the  men  stood  around  my  basket  as  I  read  over  the 
titles  of  its  contents,  the  German  cook  pointing  to  my  basket  exclaimed,  '  Chesus 
Grise  in  dere,  and  Chesus  Grise  up  dere !'  and  clasping  his  hands  on  his  breast, 
'  Chesus  Grise  in  here  too. '  This  simple  Christian  eloquence  had  a  great  influence 
on  us  all.  The  captain  bought  a  bunch  of  books,  and  gave  one  to  each  of  his 
men,  and  turning  to  me  said  in  a  familiar  way,  '  That  is  our  Christian.' 

"Captain  B is  not  a  professor  of  religion,  but  he  has  a  pious  mother,  and 

he  retains  a  regard  for  religion.  He  says,  '  I  always  allow  my  men  fifteen  minutes 
in  the  morning  and  fifteen  in  the  evening  for  their  private  devotions,  and  no  man 
has  a  more  orderly  crew  than  mine.  Always  ready.'  This  morning  go  aboard  a 
vessel  from  Calcutta,  manned  by  a  crew  of  colored  men,  except  the  captain.  Here 
I  saw  the  good  effects  of  missionary  effort ;  all  quiet,  all  able  to  read,  all  had  money, 
and  all  bought  books,  and  one  of  the  mates  got  a  lot  of  books  for  his  Sabbath- 
school.  Another  twelve  Testaments,  and  another  twelve  Tract  Primers.  Thus 

they  showed  the  great  worth  of  instruction.     Here  is  Captain  J ;  he  is  a  pious 

man  and  loves  to  read  a  good  book.    He  has  bespoke  a  copy  of  Pilgrim's  Progress, 

Saints'  Eest,  and  Atonement.     Next  is  Captain  ,  who  leaves  to-morrow  for 

Marseilles.     He  is  not  a  pious  man,  but  he  wants  the  'Great  Reformation,'  and 


28  COLPORTAGE  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

four  or  five  other  books.  Here  on  the  wharf  you  meet  a  countryman.  He  has 
nine  children  and  is  a  poor  man.  While  talking  about  his  family  and  the  impor- 
tance of  religious  instruction,  you  are  lotting  off  his  ten  books  for  $2  50.  Do  you 
hear  that  young  man  how  he  is  swearing  at  the  drayman  for  taking  the  wrong 
box?  We  will  wait  a  little,  and  give  him  The  Swearer's  Prayer,  and  ask  him  if 
his  mother  was  not  a  good  woman,  and  if  she  taught  him  to  swear  ?  Now  he  is 
reading  the  tract.  Yes,  here  is  Bill  Martin;  he  wants  the  big  Saint's  Rest  for  his 
father.  Thus  we  can  spend  a  day  or  two  each  week,  besides  visiting  fifty  families, 
and  going  through  the  mills  and  workshops  distributing  tracts. 

"Here  we  must  stop  work  and  take  the  cars,  and  go  to  Charleston,  South  Car- 
olina, to  attend  the  Convention.  Find  a  box  of  books  there ;  get  a  basket  and 
start  out  through  the  city  ;  soon  sell  all  the  fine  large  works  ;  meet  the  brethren  for 
prayer.  Hear  the  sermon  by  Dr.  Worcester — engage  in  the  immediate  business  of 
the  Convention.  Listen  to  the  Christian  experience  of  the  brethren,  and  hear  of 
the  destitution  of  our  Southern  country,  and  many  facts  that  show  the  capacity  of 
the  Tract  Society  to  meet  those  wants  through  the  agency  of  colporteurs.  Hear 
the  remarks  and  prayers  of  the  city  pastors.  Experience  the  kind  hospitality  of  the 
citizens.  Leave  under  a  grateful  sense  of  the  goodness  of  God,  and  a  deeper  convic- 
tion of  the  importance  of  colportage  to  meet  the  wants  of  our  growing  yet  destitute 
population  ;  and  return  in  safety  to  my  field  to  commence  anew  to  labor  for  Christ. 

"  QUARTERLY  REPORT — To-day,  December  4th,  had  a  very  busy  day  on  the  water. 
Here  on  a  raft  I  find  the  man  who  bought  a  dollar's  worth  of  books  for  his  chil- 
dren, through  the  aid  of  which  two  of  them  learned  to  read.  He  got  four  books 
to-day.  Met  also  the  converted  Catholic,  who  now  rejoices  in  the  liberty  he  feels 
while  reading  the  New  Testament  and  Baxter's  Call.  See  the  man  who  ten  days 
back  bought  $2  worth  of  books  for  his  wife.  He  cannot  read,  but  he  got  them  for 
her.  He  tells  me  that  when  he  took  them  home,  and  his  wife  got  to  reading,  she 
and  his  children  began  to  cry ;  so  he  thinks  he  will  not  get  them  any  more  this 
time.  Here  too  is  the  boatman  that  wants  a  big  Saints'  Rest  for  his  mother,  but 
his  hands  are  too  dirty  to  touch  it  now.  Take  dinner  with  the  captain  and  his 
men  on  the  flat,  and  after  they  have  washed  their  fingers,  sell  them  eight  books. 
This  evening  had  prayer-meeting  at  the  seamen's  boarding-house.  This  is  always 

an  interesting  time.     Let  us  go  aboard  the  schooner  L ;  went  to  see  the  mate, 

who  had  lain  sick  at  the  home  when  here  a  month  ago.  He  was  then  very  impa- 
tient and  profane.  We  urged  on  him  the  importance  of  religion,  and  gave  him  a 
book  and  a  few  tracts,  which  he  took  with  indifference,  and  reluctantly  said  he 
would  read  them,  but  God  has  touched  his  heart ;  he  met  me  kindly,  asked  what 
books  I  had,  and  remarked  he  would  not  live  long ;  '  and,  sir,  you  know  I  am  a 
poor  sinner.  I  want  to  get  some  good  books  and  read,  and  try  to  quit  swearing, 
for  I  know  I  am  not  ready  to  die.  Give  me  the  worth  of  that  $3  in  books,  and  let 
one  be  a  Bible.  You  pick  them  for  me,  you  know  \vhat  sort  I  need  to  read.' 

"Monday,  llth.  Go  into  the  counting-houses — rainy.  A  man  who  never  goes 
to  church  followed  me  from  one  to  another  and  heard  all  that  wras  said,  and  looked 
at  the  books  and  tracts  left,  but  had  nothing  to  say.  At  length  when  I  went  into 
a  mill  he  left  me,  but  on  my  way  home  he  called  me  round  the  corner.  'Sir, 
I  've  been  watching  you  ever  since  you  offered  me  them  tracts  last  spring,  and  I 
have  been  after  you  all  day,  to  see  what  you  were  doing.  I  don't  want  any  of 
your  books.  I  am  a  poor,  wicked,  lost  man.  I  might  have  got  religion  once,  but  I 
can't  now.  Here,  take  this  money,  and  when  you  go  home  pick  out  as  many  little 
books  as  it  will  buy,  and  lay  them  away  to  give  to  the  poor  children  on  Christ- 
mas ;  but  be  sure  you  don't  tell  any  body  who  gave  you  the  money.  Good-by.' 
To-day  sell  my  last  Testament  with  Notes. 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY.  29 

"Wednesday,  13th.  Get  a  new  supply  of  books.     Send  a  good  lot  of  reading  to 
with  Captain  P  --  and  crew.     To-day  meet  Captain  F  -  ,  a  Universalist. 


He  was  pleased  with  D'Aubigne,  which  he  bought,  with  three  or  four  other 
books. 

"January,  1855.  Commence  this  month  among  the  workshops,  on  the  rail- 
road, and  at  the  foundries.  These  open  up  a  wide  and  interesting  portion  of  my 
field.  The  foreman  gives  me  liberty  to  go  through  the  shops,  and  sets  an  hour  for 
me  to  be  there  with  my  books,  so  the  work  is  not  hindered. 

"Tuesday,  llth.  A  man  from  the  country  wants  a  fine  Testament  with  Notes. 
Another  something  for  his  children.  Another  some  books  for  the  Sabbath-school. 
Another  the  Pilgrim's  Progress.  Another  the  Great  Keformation.  Another  one 
of  each  juvenile  work  I  had.  A  lady  wanted  $10  worth  of  books  for  a  Sabbath- 
school  library.  After  dark  an  old,  infirm  lady  came  to  my  room  to  get  books  for 
her  Sabbath-school.  She  got  eighty  books,  for  which  she  gave  me  cents  and  half 
dimes.  Surely  she  hath  done  more  than  them  all.  She  is  a  woman  of  prayer. 
February  was  spent  in  a  similar  way,  but  the  greater  part  of  it  I  spent  at  Charles- 
ton ;  where  besides  the  business  of  the  Convention  I  was  able  to  visit  100  families, 
and  dispose  of  some  $90  worth  of  books.  '  ' 

REPORT  OF  MR.  G.  S. 

'  '  Some  families  in  this  county  are  very  well  supplied  with  good  books,  but  very 
many  are  destitute,  and  among  the  poor  grants  are  gratefully  accepted.  I  meet 
with  warm  friends  occasionally  who  appear  gratified  to  aid  me  in  my  work  ;  while 
others  show  open  opposition,  and  would  have  no  books.  One  extremely  cold  night 
I  stopped  at  a  house  and  asked  for  lodgings.  I  was  roughly  refused.  As  it  was 
a  long  way  to  another  house  I  told  my  business,  and  begged  leave  to  get  shelter. 
The  man  said  he  cared  nothing  about  my  books.  I  offered  to  pay  him,  for  I  really 
did  not  know  where  to  go.  He  said  angrily,  'Stay,  then.'  I  did  so,  showed  my 
books  to  the  family  and  talked  much  to  the  man,  and  prayed  with  them  after  recit- 
ing a  portion  of  Scripture,  for  his  Bible  was  so  defaced  I  could  not  read  in  it.  In 
the  morning  we  had  more  conversation  and  prayer,  and  when  I  asked  for  my  bill 
he  said  I  owed  him  nothing.  If  he  had  done  any  thing  for  me  or  the  cause  I 
was  engaged  in,  he  was  glad  to  accommodate  me.  I  could  relate  many  such 
instances." 

REPORT  OF  MR.  W.  J.  W.  C. 

'  '  During  the  past  year  I  was  enabled  to  spend  ten  months  in  going  from  house 
to  house  talking,  praying,  and  scattering  printed  truth  as  an  humble  colporteur. 
Much  of  this  time  I  have  toiled  through  heat  and  cold,  wet  and  dry,  and  frequently 
late  at  night  ;  but  in  all  I  felt  that  God  was  with  me,  giving  me  access  to  the 
hearts  of  the  people,  and  blessing  my  labors  to  the  good  of  my  own  soul,  and  I  trust 
also  to  others. 

"In  the  ten  months  I  have  visited  1,848  families,  talked  on  personal  religion, 
or  prayed  with  1,650,  of  whom  104  were  without  the  Bible,  290  destitute  of  all 
religious  books  except  the  Bible,  and  201  habitually  neglecting  public  worship  ; 
sold  nearly  3,000  volumes,  worth  $558  39;  and  gave  away  about  1,000  volumes, 
worth  $158  82  ;  also  received  donations  for  the  tract  cause  amounting  to  $1,052  60. 
Notwithstanding  the  ignorance,  wickedness,  and  fatal  error  I  have  met  with,  yet 
I  have  not  been  treated  rudely  by  a  single  family  ;  all  have  shown  me  kindness 
and  respect,  and  seemed  to  realize  readily  that  the  true  object  of  my  visit  was  to 
do  them  good. 

"In  revisiting  families  I  find  that  at  least  three-fourths  of  the  books  I  left  have 


30  COLPORTAGE  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

been  read,  and  it  is  truly  encouraging  to  witness  the  manifest  increased  interest  in 
reading  ;  it  is  especially  very  marked  with  the  young.  Our  people  in  North  Caro- 
lina are  becoming  fully  ready  for  the  labors  of  the  colporteur,  and  wherever  he 
goes  in  the  faithful  discharge  of  his  duties,  he  will  find  but  few  who  understand 
his  work  that  will  oppose  or  discourage  him,  because  they  see  it  is  God's  work, 
carrying  the  joyful  message  of  a  crucified  and  interceding  Jesus  to  every  family. 

"During  the  first  three  months  I  labored  mostly  in  the  towns  of  Fayette- 
ville  and  Wilmington.  Both  of  these  places  are  highly  favored  with  good  and 
generally  well-filled  churches,  an  excellent  ministry  in  the  different  churches, 
and  promising  Sabbath-schools ;  also  flourishing  day-schools ;  and,  as  would  be 
supposed,  an  intelligent,  enterprising,  and  generous  people.  But  on  going 
thoroughly  through  the  streets,  lanes,  and  suburbs  among  the  poor  and  ungodly, 
I  found  a  great  many  in  a  deplorable  condition  in  body,  mind,  and  soul,  as  the 
following  statistics  and  facts  will  show.  In  Fayetteville  I  visited  all  as  I  came  to 
them,  but  in  Wilmington  I  labored  mostly  among  the  higher  class.  Visited,  talked 
on  personal  religion,  or  prayed  with  548  families  in  Fayetteville,  of  whom  181  were 
destitute  of  all  religious  books  but  the  Bible  ;  fifty-four  were  destitute  of  the  Bible, 
and  ninety-nine  habitually  neglecting  the  house  of  God.  Sold  895  volumes,  in 
value  $202  84  ;  and  gave  away  243  volumes,  in  value  $45  52.  Visited,  in  Wilming- 
ton, 346  families,  of  whom  six  were  destitute  of  all  religious  books  except  the 
Bible,  four  were  destitute  of  the  Bible,  and  nine  habitually  neglected  church. 
Sold  175  volumes,  in  value  $35  83;  and  granted  fifty-five  volumes,  in  value 
$10  77. 

' '  One  evening  I  found  four  families  within  three  hundred  yards  of  three  churches, 
who  went  to  church  on  an  average  once  in  five  years  ;  two  of  the  daughters,  over 
twelve  years  old,  had  never  heard  a  sermon  or  prayer.  All  promised  to  attend 
church,  and  I  have  since  seen  three  of  them  out.  Found  a  man  with  a  family, 
who  had  been  teaching  school  about  twenty  years,  who  never  owned  a  Bible  ;  he 
had  no  part  of  the  Scriptures  in  his  house  when  I  visited  him,  but  had  owned  a 
New  Testament.  In  one  day  I  visited  eleven  families  ;  found  seven  of  them  with- 
out the  Bible,  and  not  a  single  other  religious  book.  The  average  of  their  attending 
church  was  once  in  four  years,  and  among  them  I  found  three  fathers,  two  moth- 
ers, four  sons,  and  two  daughters,  all  down  drunk.  I  went  in  and  spoke  kindly 
to  them.  Some  of  them  said,  '  We  are  not  fit  for  any  body  to  come  to  see  us.' 
I  told  them,  as  God  loved  them  well  enough  to  be  yet  merciful  to  them,  surely  we 
could  love  them  enough  to  come  and  talk  to  them  about  that  mercy.  I  talked 
and  prayed  with  them  all.  The  next  day,  according  to  promise,  I  revisited  them, 
and  found  them  tolerably  sober.  After  showing  the  evil  of  their  course  upon  their 
bodies  and  souls,  all  but  two  agreed  to  quit  drinking  ;  and  they  invited  me  to  come 
and  see  them  and  help  them  all  I  could,  for,  said  they,  '  We  know  it  will  be  hard 
work.'  I  accordingly  did  so,  and  not  one  that  promised  to  quit,  drank  any  liquor 
the  two  weeks  I  was  with  them. 

"  In  two  families  I  found  eight  promising  children  in  an  ignorant,  destitute 
condition,  who  expressed  anxiety  to  learn  to  read.  I  gave  them  books  and  taught 
them  a  while  myself,  and  got  their  consent  to  start  to  Sabbath-school,  although 
so  badly  clothed.  I  made  known  their  case  to  a  good  man,  who  aided  me  in 
getting  $6  50 , which  I  laid  out  in  clothing  for  these  children  ;  I  then  engaged  two 
pious  ladies  to  visit  them  every  week,  and  go  with  them  to  school.  I  met 
with  a  boy  of  seventeen  years,  who  said  he  had  never  heard  a  sermon  or  prayer 
until  that  day.  He  stated  that  his  mother  never  went  to  church,  and  he  always 

staid  with  her.     He  moved  near  town  from  J county  about  one  year  ago. 

In  another  neighborhood  I  found  five  families  destitute  of  the  Bible  and  all  other 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY.  31 

religious  books ;  but  one  among  them  could  read.  One  family  had  not  been  to 
church  in  eighteen  months,  the  second  in  two  years,  the  third  and  fourth  in  four 
years,  and  the  fifth  in  nine  years.  I  was  informed  that  frequently  fathers,  moth- 
ers, and  children  were  all  drunk  together,  and  that  a  man  had  been  stabbed  in 
one  of  these  drunken  frolics  a  few  days  before.  Some  of  these  children  said,  '  I 
wish  there  was  no  liquor  for  father  and  mother  to  drink  and  give  to  me.'  All  of 
them  were  glad  to  get  books.  Some  promised  to  start  to  Sabbath-school,  and 
others  said  they  would  go  if  they  were  not  so  ragged,  but  they  would  try  to  learn 
in  their  new  books  somehow.  I  taught  one  most  of  the  alphabet ;  also  two  of  the 
mothers,  on  a  second  visit.  Only  two  of  these  parents  would  agree  to  go  to  church, 
but  all  were  willing  for  their  children  to  go  and  be  taught.  Some  poor  wretched 
persons  remarked,  that  the  rich  and  religious  families  around  them  were  visited, 
talked,  and  prayed  with,  but  no  one  ever  came  in  to  talk  and  pray  with  them ; 
and  an  old  lady  added,  that  her  book  said  Christ  came  to  be  the  physician  of  the 
sick,  not  of  the  whole,  and  to  call  sinners,  and  not  the  righteous.  Several  godly 
persons  are  commencing  to  visit,  talk,  read  the  Scriptures  and  tracts,  and  pray 
with  these  poor,  degraded,  ignorant  families  every  Sabbath  morning,  and  get  their 
children  in  a  Sabbath-school,  which  I  furnish  with  books  gratis  ;  and  also  to  meet 
them  all  Sabbath  evenings  in  a  school-house,  to  talk  and  pray  with  them ;  to 
which  they  say  they  will  go  bare-footed,  or  bare-headed,  as  the  case  may  be. 
Found  a  respectable  man  about  thirty  years  old,  with  a  family,  living  within  fifty 
yards  of  a  Bible  depository,  who  never  owned  a  Bible.  I  supplied  him  and  had 
several  talks  with  him,  and  he  is  now  quite  concerned  about  his  soul.  A  good  man 
promised  to  visit  him.  In  each  of  these  towns  is  work  enough  for  a  faithful  col- 
porteur all  the  time.  Every  minister  in  both  places  bid  me  a  hearty  God  speed. 
And  I  shall  ever  recur  to  the  kindness,  advice,  and  ready  aid  afforded  me  by 
these  men  of  God,  with  the  greatest  pleasure  and  gratitude. 

"During  the  second  quarter  I  was  enabled  to  visit,  talk  on  personal  religion, 
or  pray  with  526  families,  of  whom  37  were  destitute  of  all  religious  books  but  the 
Bible,  11  destitute  of  the  Bible,  and  32  habitually  neglecting  the  house  of  God ; 
aided  in  holding  17  religious  meetings  ;  sold  939  volumes,  worth  $200  19,  and  gave 
away  343  volumes,  worth  $49  59. 

"  About  400  of  these  families  I  visited  a  year  ago,  and  it  is  highly  gratifying 
to  see  the  improvement  that  so  many  have  made  in  obtaining  knowledge,  and  the 
manifest  disposition  to  continue  improving.  Many  who  then  only  took  a  '  Tract 
Primer '  at  ten  cents,  on  my  second  visit  bought  from  one  to  four  dollars'  worth.  In 
one  neighborhood  three  mothers  and  two  fathers,  besides  several  children,  have 
learned  to  spell  and  read  from  this  precious  little  volume.  And  in  another  neigh- 
borhood there  were  thirty-two  children  over  seven  years  old  who  then  knew  not 
the  alphabet,  and  most  of  them  never  heard  a  sermon  or  prayer  ;  all  of  these  now 
know  the  alphabet,  many  of  them  can  spell  in  one  and  two  syllables,  and  some  of  the 
oldest,  twelve  and  fifteen  years  old,  now  begin  to  read,  and  are  able  to  answer 
most  of  the  questions  in  the  first  catechism.  I  was  also  forcibly  struck  at  their 
asking  me  so  many  questions  about  God  and  heaven.  As  there  is  no  church  near 
for  this  people  to  attend,  there  will  in  a  short  time  be  a  good  house  erected,  in 
which  to  have  a  Sabbath-school  and  regular  preaching.  Several  experienced  per- 
sons five  miles  off,  have  consented  to  go  and  aid  in  this  Sabbath-school.  How 
delighted  these  children  are  at  this  arrangement.  Five  mothers  and  two  fathers 
of  these  children  promised  to  go  to  this  school  to  learn  to  spell  and  read,  two  of 
whom  learned  most  of  the  alphabet  on  my  last  visit. 

"After  being  kindly  received  by  an  obscure  and  destitute  family,  I  had  a 
pleasant  talk  with  the  father,  mother,  and  little  children,  the  oldest  about  nine, 


32        COLPORTAGE  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

and  then  gave  them  the  first  Bihle  they  ever  owned,  and  also  the  '  Primer,'  from 
which  I  began  to  read  and  talk,  fand  soon  each  one  said,  '  I  wish  I  could  read.' 
Learning  from  them  that  they  once  could  spell,  I  drew  near  them  and  spent  some 
time  spelling  with  them  and  instructing  them  to  read.  After  reading  a  chapter 
from  their  new  Bible  and  praying  with  them,  that  mother  with  tears  in  her  eyes 
said,  '  Yours  is  the  first  religious  visit  ever  made  to  our  house,  and  that  is  the 
first  prayer  ever  made  in  the  hearing  of  our  children.  I  want  you  to  come  to 
see  us  often,  for  we  '11  be  glad  to  see  you  if  we  are  wicked  people.'  They  had 
not  been  to  church  in  two  years.  Since  my  visit  I  have  seen  the  husband  at 
preaching  twice  ;  and  he,  his  wife,  and  oldest  child  are  now  being  instructed  to 
spell  and  read  by  an  individual  of  piety  and  intelligence. 

' '  I  have  aided  in  forming  two  promising  Sabbath-schools  in  very  destitute 

sections.     Two  of  the  scholars  are  M and  A ;  aged  sixteen  and  fourteen. 

The  mother  of  these  children  I  found  drunk  ;  also  her  child  A ,  who  was  lying 

on  the  floor  in  one  corner  pillowed  with  an  even-lid.     I  found  M had  a  good 

mind  and  fine  disposition,  and  seemed  deeply  grieved  at  her  condition,  not  being 
able  to  spell  or  read,  and  seldom  ever  having  been  at  church.  I  found  several 
others  near  by  in  nearly  as  destitute  condition.  Aid  was  afforded  them  in  prepar- 
ing for  Sabbath-school,  and  on  the  second  Sabbath  they  all  walked  together  to  the 
school  in  nice  order  and  fine  spirits.  How  striking  is  the  contrast  in  the  case  of 

A ,  who  two  weeks  previous  was  lying  drunk,  pillowed  with  an  oven-lid;  but 

now  is  seen  walking  steadily,  with  combed  hair,  clean  face  and  hands,  neat  new 
clothes,  to  the  Sabbath-school  to  learn  about  Jesus.  A  young  minister  of  much 
promise  recently  said  to  me  about  as  follows  :  '  Sir,  I  entertain  feelings  of  lasting 
gratitude  for  you,  regarding  you  as  an  instrument,  in  God's  hands,  of  bringing  me 
into  the  ministry.  For  when  there  was  a  sore  struggle  as  to  my  taking  up  this 
cross,  I  went  to  where  your  books  were  spread  out,  and  heard  you  speak  of  the 
perishing  hundreds  and  scarcity  of  laborers,  which  rested  with  weight  on  my  mind  ; 
and  I  bought  D'Aubigne's  'History  of  the  Keformation,'  the  reading  of  which 
deepened  my  impressions,  so  that  before  I  had  closed  the  first  volume  I  was  filled 
with  the  spirit  that  fired  Luther's  soul,  and  I  at  once  hung  my  all  upon  the  cross 
of  Christ  as  his  minister.' 

"At  a  recent  meeting  many  have  been  hopefully  converted.  One  was  a  fine 
young  lady,  who  says  that  my  visit  to  her  father's  house,  about  seven  months  ago, 
afforded  the  means  of  her  awakening.  She  soon  after  my  visit  made  known  her 
feelings  and  purposes  to  five  of  her  associates,  all  of  whom  covenanted  with  God 
to  seek  salvation,  and  they  have  all  now  found  pardon  and  peace. 

' '  The  female  Tract  distributers  of  Raleigh  are  truly  devoted  to  their  '  work 
of  faith  and  labor  of  love,'  in  leaving  a  tract  monthly  with  every  family  in  the 
city,  talking  with,  aiding,  encouraging,  and  instructing  such  as  are  in  need  of  it. 
It  is  highly  gratifying  to  know  that  they  are  generally  very  kindly  received,  and 
that  their  labors  are  highly  appreciated  by  the  citizens  and  owned  and  blessed  of 
God.  A  young  man  of  standing  recently  said  to  me,  '  The  tract  on  ardent  spirits, 
distributed  by  the  Female  Tract  Society,  was  placed  in  my  hands,  which  I  read, 
and  it  fully  convinced  me  of  my  ruinous  course,  and  I  determined  to  abandon  the 
use  of  liquor  entirely  as  a  beverage  ;  which  I  have  done  up  to  the  present  moment, 
and  shall  continue  to  do  so.'  This  tract  has  also  been  the  means  of  reforming  a 
dissipated  young  man  in  the  country,  to  whom  it  was  sent  by  a  friend.  A  promi- 
nent man  told  me  that  he  intended  to  be  a  standing  colporteur,  to  keep  on  hand 
and  distribute  that  tract  written  by  Dr.  Edwards,  and  I  let  him  have  a  good  sup- 
ply. A  family  of  high  standing,  who  made  fashionable  use  of  liquors,  told  me 
that  this  tract  had  convinced  them  of  the  great  error  in  using  it  even  in  tlmt  way. 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY.  33 

The  tract,  '  A  Visit  to  your  Family,'  has  been  the  means  of  a  father  commencing 
family  prayer.  And  a  young  man  said,  '  I  never  had  such  views  of  eternity,  my 
approach  to  it,  and  my  foolishly  spent  time,  as  since  I  read  the  tract,  '  Serious 
Thoughts  on  Eternity,'  distributed  by  the  ladies.' 

"In  revisiting  families,  it  is  cheering  to  witness  the  increased  concern  with 
parents  correctly  to  educate  their  children.  In  many  of  the  humblest  log-cabins 
in  the  most  obscure  places,  do  I  frequently  hear  it  earnestly  said,  '  I  am  determined 
to  educate  my  children,  if  I  never  give  them  a  cent  besides.'  As  I  approached  the 

house  of  a  widow,  her  grandchild  E ,  fifteen  years  old,  ran  to  me  exclaiming, 

'  0,  Mr.  C ,  I  am  glad  to  see  you  again,  that  I  may  tell  you  how  I  feel,  and 

thank  you  for  your  talk  to  me  about  my  soul  and  the  good  tracts  you  gave  me 
when  you  were  here  before.  Then  I  was  a  wicked  child,  and  should  have  been  lost 
for  ever  if  I  had  died,  but  now  I  feel  Jesus  precious  to  my  soul,  and  would  not  be  afraid 
to  die  if  it  was  God's  will.  I  want  you  and  grandma  to  help  me  praise  the  Lord.' 

"  On  Sabbath  morning  I  visited  a  Sunday-school  in  a  place  where  iniquity 
abounded  a  few  years  since.  I  went  in  time  to  witness  their  entire  exercises,  and 
a  more  interesting  scene  I  have  seldom  if  ever  beheld  in  my  life.  The  government 
of  the  superintendent,  and  the  attention  and  instruction  of  the  teachers,  were  of  the 
most  pleasant  and  effectual  character.  The  children  were  all  quiet,  deeply  inter- 
ested in  reciting  their  good  lessons  and  hearing  the  explanations  given.  I  here 
found  fifty  of  '  The  Pictorial  Tract  Primers '  in  use,  and  the  superintendent  said, 
'  This  book  is  just  the  right  thing  for  interesting  and  instructing  children.  All  are 
delighted  with  it.'  And  a  mother  here  remarked,  '  So  simple,  tender,  and  touch- 
ing are  the  answers  in  the  catechism  of  the  Tract  Primer,  that  my  son  John, 
though  not  quite  six  years  old,  is  so  delighted  with  and  impressed  by  them  that 
frequently  he  is  affected  to  tears  while  I  am  teaching  him  the  lesson,  and  he  will 
then  say,  'Ma,  I  must  be  a  good  boy,  for  the  Lord  is  so  great  and  good.'  This 
school  has  increased  from  forty-three  to  eighty-seven  scholars  since  its  celebration 
on  the  4th  of  July  last.  One  of  the  superintendent's  plans  for  increasing  his  school 
is,  to  give  to  him  or  her  who  brings  in  a  new  scholar  a  nice  picture  tract,  and  one 
to  the  new  scholar.  This  gets  the  whole  school  interested  and  at  work. 

"I  gave  a  tract  called  'The  Fool's  Pence'  to  a  moderate  drinker  thirteen 
months  ago,  and  he  at  once  gave  up  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  and  loaned  the  tract 
to  his  neighbor,  who  read  and  loaned  it  again,  and  in  this  way  it  has  passed  through 
eighteen  families,  and  by  it  thirteen  persons  have  been  induced  to  give  up  the  use 
of  alcoholic  drinks  as  a  beverage. 

' '  I  have  been  forcibly  struck  and  greatly  encouraged  by  hearing  professors  of 
religion  speak  of  the  happy  effects  produced  on  their  minds  and  hearts  from  read- 
ing the  tract  volumes.  Some  have  been  thoroughly  awakened  to  their  Christian 
duties,  and  in  the  performance  of  duty  they  testify  that  they  have  enlarged  views 
of  God,  new  love  for  him,  and  increasing  concern  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel  and 
the  conversion  of  sinners.  Many  of  them  have  requested  me  to  give  them  an 
opportunity  to  contribute  annually  to  the  Tract  Society,  assuring  me  that  their 
prayers  should  ascend  daily  for  God's  blessing  to  attend  all  its  efforts  and  instru- 
mentalities. A  travelling  minister  recently  said,  '  I  have  been  through  neighbor- 
hoods where  you  have  scattered  books,  and  your  books  are  doing  vast  good. 
They  are  getting  people  to  read  who  read  not  before  ;  and  they  are  getting  many 
to  think  and  talk  in  a  way  they  seldom  did  before ;  and  they  are  getting  light 
where  there  was  gross  darkness  before.' 

' '  Recently  a  gentleman  came  to  me  in  the  street  and  said,  '  My  heart  is  filled 
with  joy  to  overflowing  this  morning,  and  I  wish  to  speak  with  you  about  it. 
Since  I  have  been  trying  to  serve  God,  my  dear  wife  has  strongly  opposed  me. 


34         COLPORTAGE  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

But  for  the  last  six  months  she  has  received  and  read  a  tract  monthly,  from  the 
'Female  Tract  Society/  which  seemed  to  make  her  serious,  and  occasionally  she 
has  gone  to  church.  On  last  Sunday  she  went  to  church  twice,  and  at  night  she 
was  much  distressed  and  unwilling  to  retire ;  I  asked  her  to  make  known  her 
mind  and  feelings  to  me.  She  seemed  to  hesitate  a  moment,  and  then  said,  with 
streaming  eyes,  'Oh,  I  am  such  an  awful  sinner.  What  shall  I  do  ?  I  have 
opposed  your  praying  in  our  family,  and  I  have  never  heard  you  pray.  I  do  not 
want  to  lie  down  to-night  without  hearing  you  pray,  and  pray  for  me.'  I  at 
once  got  my  family  together,  and  for  the  first  time  tried  to  pray  in  public  ;  and 
in  the  discharge  of  this  duty  my  soul  has  been  abundantly  blessed,  and  my  wife  is 
yet  anxiously  inquiring  for  salvation.'  This  lady  has  since  been  hopefully  con- 
verted to  God. 

"  Most  of  November  I  was  on  a  visit  to  West  Tennessee,  where  colportage  has 
done  and  is  yet  doing  great  good.  I  was  greatly  strengthened  and  encouraged  by 
spending  a  few  days  with  brother  T.  J.  Terry,  colporteur  of  Henry  county.  May 
the  Lord  long  spare  his  useful  life.  I  also  met  with  other  colporteurs  by  the  way, 
who  succeeded  well  in  getting  travellers  to  take  good  books  and  tracts  to  read 
instead  of  novels.  A  fine-looking  gentleman  came  to  me  on  the  cars  and  pur- 
chased some  tracts.  He  seemed  unusually  glad  to  get  them,  and  after  he  had 
distributed  some  he  took  a  seat  with  me  and  stated  that  whenever  he  saw  tracts 
his  gratitude  to  God  was  newly  stirred,  for  it  was  a  tract  given  him  by  a  colpor- 
teur between  Philadelphia  and  New  York  that  was  instrumental  in  awaking  him 
and  bringing  him  to  Christ,  the  sinner's  friend.  May  we  all  take  fresh  courage  in 
working  for  God,  who  ever  works  for  us. 

' '  The  two  mouths  I  labored  in  the  fourth  and  last  quarter,  aiforded  me  much 
encouragement  and  instruction.  A  few  weeks  since  a  man  came  to  me  wishing  to 
get  a  Bible,  and  stated  that  I  visited  him  about  a  year  ago  and  talked  to  his  wife 
about  her  soul,  which  she  treated  lightly,  and  would  not  then  consent  for  him 
to  get  a  Bible,  pretending  to  regard  it  as  being  nothing  but  man's  work,  deceiving 
the  world.  He  informed  me  that  in  a  few  months  after  my  visit  she  was  deeply 
afflicted,  and  while  lying  upon  her  bed,  she  read  '  Religion  and  Eternal  Life,'  which 
I  placed  in  her  hands  on  leaving,  and  God  blessed  it  in  deeply  convicting  her  and 
enabling  her  to  find  Christ  precious  to  her  soul. 

"I  recently  called  to  see  two  families  whom  I  first  visited  two  years  ago,  and 
found  in  each  four  sensible  children.  By  the  intemperance  of  the  fathers  both  the 
families  had  been  reduced  to  the  lowest  degradation,  and  almost  starvation.  My 
first  visit  seemed  to  effect  no  good  with  these  drunkards  ;  but  seeing  their  families 
were  interested  and  needed  attention,  I  repeated  my  visits,  and  got  other  pious 
friends  to  go  with  me.  In  a  few  mouths  both  the  mothers  became  awakened,  one 
by  the  blessing  of  God  upon  'James'  Anxious  Inquirer,'  and  the  other  by  'Come 
to  Jesus.'  And  their  earnest  pleadings  for  mercy 'deeply  aifected  their  husbands, 
and  caused  them  to  abandon  the  use  of  ardent  spirits ;  and  now  they  are  sober, 
moral,  industrious,  and  respectable  citizens.  Both  now  live  in  good  white  houses, 
furnished  with  plain,  neat,  and  comfortable  furniture,  and  are  enjoying  peace  and 
plenty.  One  of  the  mothers  has  been  hopefully  converted,  and  the  other  is  yet 
striving  for  the  blessing. 

"A  lady  of  high  standing,  who  has  been  sorely  afflicted,  writes,  'Please  see  if 
you  have  the  two  tracts,  '  Come  to  Jesus '  and  '  It  is  I.'  They  are  books  I  desire  to 
own,  for  they  have  given  me  more  comfort  than  every  thing  else  I  have  read, 
except  the  Bible.  I  wish  to  have  three  copies  of  each.' 

"I  spent  the  most  of  February  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  attending  a  con- 
vention of  colporteurs,  agents,  and  members  of  the  American  Tract  Society  from 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY.  35 

six  different  states.  Christians  from  eight  different  denominations  were  here  assem- 
bled to  talk  and  pray  together,  to  get  their  lamps  in  a  stronger  and  brighter  flame 
by  the  Holy  Ghost.  God's  people  being  here  met  in  God's  name  alone,  to  get 
God's  blessing  to  enable  them  properly  to  do  God's  work,  his  promise  was  verified 
most  clearly  and  powerfully,  for  God  was  with  them  owning  and  blessing  them ;  and 
all,  all  was  harmony  and  love,  and  they  were  enabled  to  realize  most  joyfully  that 
all  Christians  are  one  in  Christ  Jesus. 

"Most  of  the  churches  in  the  city  were  opened  to  us,  and  in  the  sessions  of  the 
convention  and  public  meetings  held  in  the  various  churches,  the  principles  and 
objects  of  the- Tract  Society  were  fully  and  satisfactorily  made  known,  and  its  adap- 
tation to  the  present  wants  of  our  country,  in  carrying  light  everywhere,  was  strik- 
ingly set  forth  and  deeply  impressed.  The  people  of  Charleston  did  a  noble  part 
in  contributing  to  the  support  of  this  work.  A  number  of  persons  gave  each  $150, 
the  salary  of  a  colporteur.  Mr.  E.  L.  Kerrison  agreed  to  devote  his  time  to  the 
superintendence  of  this  work  in  South  Carolina  gratis.  May  the  Lord  give  us  such 
a  man  in  North  Carolina. 

' '  The  hospitality  and  marked  kindness  shown  us  by  the  people  of  Charleston, 
especially  those  families  who  gave  us  such  comfortable  and  happy  'homes,'  will 
cause  us  to  remember  them  most  gratefully,  and,  I  trust,  earnestly  to  bear  them 
up  to  a  throne  of  grace,  until  that  grace  shall  finally  bring  us  to  meet  at  that 
throne  where  all  who  will  now  come  to  Jesus  shall  meet  and  dwell  with  him  and 
holy  angels  eternally." 

EXTRACTS  FROM  REPORTS  OF  COLPORTEURS  IN 
SOUTPI  CAROLINA. 

REPORT  OF  MR.  R.  W.  T. 

"My  field  embraces  the  mountain  regions  of  South  Carolina.  The  mass  of  the 
people  are  poor,  hence  my  sales  were  small  and  grants  proportionally  large.  My 
work  has  been  abundantly  blessed.  Many  who  are  now  burning  and  shining 
lights,  date  their  convictions  to  reading  the  Society's  volumes.  Some  remarkable 
revivals  of  religion,  resulting  in  large  accessions  to  the  church,  have  occurred 
through  the  same  means.  On  commencing  the  work,  I  met  with  much  opposition. 
Sectarians  openly  opposed  it,  but  all  prejudice  is  giving  way,  as  a  correct  under- 
standing of  the  Society's  object  becomes  more  general,  and  many  ministers,  of 
different  denominations,  cordially  cooperate  in  the  work. 

' '  This  is  a  very  important  field,  embracing  three  districts,  for  each  one  of  which 

there  should  be  a  colporteur.  In  G district  the  Society's  friends  made  up  the 

salary  of  a  colporteur.  South  Carolina  is  behind  her  sister  states  in  this  enterprise 
only  because  sufficient  efforts  have  not  been  made  in  its  behalf. 

"During  this  quarter  I  have  had  much  to  encourage  me  in  my  work.  Many 
who  bought  books  have  been  the  subjects  of  reviving  grace,  while  others  are 
inquiring  the  way  of  salvation.  I  sold  $5  worth  of  books  to  a  very  wicked  young 
man,  advising  him  to  read  them  carefully.  When  I  next  saw  him  he  was  awak- 
ened, and  is  now  a  member  of  the  church  and  a  Christian,  I  hope. 

"The  good  the  tract-books  are  doing  throughout  this  country  cannot  be  express- 
ed. My  soul  is  sometimes  made  to  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable,  on  witnessing  the 
return  of-  so  many  prodigals.  I  could  effect  larger  sales  by  overlooking  the  poor, 
but  this  I  dare  not  do.  I  have  witnessed  more  good  results  among  this  class  than 
any  other. 

"  Our  town  councils  generally  prohibit  the  sale  of  ardent  spirits.     Destitution 


36  COLPORTAGE  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

of  the  word  of  God  is  of  rare  occurrence  now  in  families  ;  I  supplied  the  destitute 
chiefly  the  first  year  I  labored.  I  still  perceive  great  need  of  circulating  evangeli- 
cal books.  I  find  many  who  are  very  ignorant  of  the  plan  of  salvation.  Many, 
also,  have  been  led,  step  by  step,  from  this  state  of  ignorance  and  blindness  to 
rejoice  in  the  hope  of  a  blessed  immortality  by  reading  the  Tract  Society's  books. 
Others  are  still  in  a  course  of  training  who,  I  hope,  will  soon  find  peace  in  believ- 
ing. Some  very  aged  persons  have  become  the  subjects  of  converting  grace  by 
reading  the  works  of  Baxter,  Alleine,  and  James.  Sometimes  I  am  very  much  dis- 
couraged by  not  being  able  to  sell  my  books.  Once  I  travelled  three  days  without 
selling  a  single  book.  Scarcity  of  money,  however,  was  the  cause. 

' '  While  reviewing  the  operations  of  the  last  year,  I  recall  many  incidents  cal- 
culated to  gladden  the  Christian's  heart.  In  one  neighborhood  containing  thirty- 
five  or  forty  families,  I  found  nearly  one-third  destitute  of  the  Bible,  and  but  few 
religious  books  among  them.  Many  neglected  preaching,  and  profaned  the  Sab- 
bath. Three  hundred  volumes  were  sold  there,  thirty  persons  were  added  to  the 
church,  and  they  have  now  a  flourishing  Sabbath-school.  In  another  neighbor- 
hood of  twelve  families,  six  were  destitute  of  the  Bible,  and  had  no  religious  books. 
They  were  supplied  with  both,  and  are  now  a  reading  people,  and  solicit  more 
books.  Five  dollars'  worth  of  books  were  disposed  of  to  one  gentleman,  who,  with 
his  wife,  was  converted  through  the  reading,  and  both  have  united  with  the  church. 
James'  Anxious  Inquirer  was  the  means  of  the  conversion  of  an  aged  gentleman, 
and  his  wife  is  now  an  anxious  inquirer. 

1 '  The  great  moral  improvement  throughout  this  country  is  so  apparent,  that 
many  persons  formerly  hostile  to  the  Tract  cause,  have  become  its  ardent  advo- 
cates, and  revivals  of  religion  have  been  produced  by  the  books  circulated.  I 
gave  the  Anxious  Inquirer  to  a  poor  wicked  man.  It  proved  the  means  of  his  con- 
version, and  he  and  his  wife  joined  the  church  in  a  time  of  manifest  lukewarm- 
ness.  The  circumstance  raised  the  entire  membership  to  action ;  special  meetings 
were  held,  and  thirty  persons  were  added  to  the  church.  The  work  did  not  stop 
there.  Neighboring  churches  caught  the  spirit :  to  one,  forty  members  were  added, 
to  another,  twenty. 

"I  called  on  a  gentleman  of  75  to  talk  with  him  of  his  soul's  interest.  He 
was  very  ignorant,  and  indifferent  on  the  subject.  I  labored  hard  to  touch  a  ten- 
der chord,  and  finally  succeeded.  He  said  this  was  the  first  token  he  had  received 
in  seventy-five  years  that  any  man  cared  for  his  soul,  and  asked  me  to  pray  for 
him.  Can  you  realize  my  emotions  at  that  moment  ?  A  gray-headed  sinner,  tot- 
tering on  the  verge  of  time,  awakened  by  a  single  appeal !  I  gave  him  '  Come  to 
Jesus,'  and  told  him  he  was  not  far  from  the  foot  of  the  cross,  and  gave  him  some 
directions.  He  has  given  evidence  of  being  a  changed  man.  Although  very  poor, 
he  has  purchased  several  books.  The  half  is  untold." 

REPORT  OF  MR.  M.  S.  C. 

"I  reached  my  field  of  labor  November  20,  1854.  Made  the  acquaintance  of 
the  most  active  church-members  and  ministers,  all  of  whom  said  they  were  glad  to 
see  the  good  work  going  on,  and  that  there  was  great  need  of  missionary  labor ; 
but  vevyfeiv  evinced  a  desire  to  offer  me  even  a  '  cup  of  cold  water.'  I  found  them 
distracted  by  sectarianism ;  their  hearts  seemed  fixed  on  their  church,  rather  than 
on  ClirisC  s. 

"  I  was  told  that  among  the  poorer  classes  I  would  find  many  wicked,  not  wil- 
fully, but  through  ignorance ;  but  among  the  illiterate  I  was,  with  few  exceptions, 
gladly  welcomed,  and  as  I  scattered  the  seed  of  eternal  life  among  them,  I  trust 
some  reached  good  ground.  My  first  visit  was  made  on  the  main  street  of  A 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY.  37 

village,  within  two  hundred  yards  of  the  Bible  depository.  I  found  two  families 
in  a  house,  neither  of  the  women  could  read  'good,'  and  neither  knew  of  a  Bible 
about  the  house.  One  of  them  said  she  was  a  member  of  the  church  ;  had  lived  in 
the  village  three  years,  and  had  been  sick  a  great  portion  of  that  time,  but  none 
of  the  brethren  or  sisters  had  visited  her,  though  she  had  sent  word  for  them  to  do 
BO.  With  a  word  of  comfort  and  an  exhortation  to  trust  all  with  God,  I  left  sonic 
tracts  and  volumes.  I  afterwards  called  at  the  depository  and  obtained  a  Bible 
for  them  which  I  delivered  in  person,  and  was  warmly  thanked. 

"I  next  called  at  the  house  of  a  very  intelligent  lady.  She  sent  word  that 
she  did  not  wish  to  purchase  any  books.  I  returned,  in  reply,  that  it  was  imma- 
terial whether  she  purchased  books  or  not,  but  if  she  had  a  moment's  leisure  I 
would  like  to  call  her  attention  to  the  works  and  objects  of  the  Tract  Society.  She 
then  invited  me  in  and  looked  over  the  books  with  much  interest,  bought  several 
volumes,  and  asking  her  to  examine  the  catalogue,  which  I  always  kept  with  me, 
she  desired  me  to  bring  her  the  Afflicted  Man's  Companion ;  calling  the  next  day 
to  leave  it,  she  subscribed  for  the  Messenger.  Afterwards  I  was  received  fre- 
quently, in  the  same  way,  and  met  with  like  success.  Same  day  called  on  a  widow 
who  was  '  rich  though  poor,'  and  with  her  '  mite '  she  purchased  Pilgrim's  Progress. 

"  Nov.  25th,  visited  six  families,  three  of  them  irreligious.  They  received 
me  kindly,  and  seemed  anxious  to  hear  the  gospel.  I  have  never  felt  greater 
joy  or  serenity  of  mind  than  while  endeavoring  to  turn  their  attention  to  things 
which  are  a  savor  of  'life  unto  life.'  Of  these  families  the  most  intelligent,  pos- 
sessing in  abundance  the  things  of  this  world,  was  without  a  Bible.  The  husband 
was  an  enterprising  young  man  ;  the  wife,  the  daughter  of  wealthy  parents.  They 
conversed  freely  about  the  eternal  interests  of  the  soul,  and  purchased  several  vol- 
umes. On  leaving,  I  gave  him  Baxter's  Call,  which  he  promised  to  read  ;  he  also 
said  he  would  get  a  Bible  the  first  opportunity  that  presented  itself. 

' '  Nov.  27.  Met  a  lady  imbued  with  Universalism.  After  an  interesting  conversa- 
tion, she  bought  ten  volumes  ;  among  them,  The  Child's  Paper  for  1853.  I  remarked 
that  I  had  a  tract  I  wished  her  to  read.  '  You  must  not  give  me  any  thing  which 
would  disturb  my  belief,'  she  replied.  '  I  would  not  leave  any  book  that  would  be 
injurious  to  you,'  I  answered ;  '  and  this,  I  think,  points  out  the  true  way  of  life, 
which  we  should  all  seek,  should  we  not  ?'  '  Yes,'  she  returned,  ' and  I  '11  read  it.' 
Afterwards  called  on  some  poor  families  who  had  been  in  the  village  but  a  short 
time.  One  said  they  had  not  attended  church  since  they  had  moved  from  the 
country,  and  they  thought  the  people  did  not  want  them  to  go  into  their  nice 
churches.  I  assured  them  that  they  would  be  welcomed,  and  left  some  tracts. 

"Nov.  29.  Made  more  visits  and  fewer  sales  than  yesterday.  Had  several 
interesting  conversations.  At  one  house  the  husband  seemed  to  show  but  little 
respect  for  my  calling.  Pointing  to  the  Bible  which  lay  on  the  table  between  us, 
I  said,  '  You  revere  this  book  ?'  '  Oh,  yes.'  '  You  believe  there  is  a  state  of  eter- 
nal happiness  or  misery?'  '  Yes.'  'Are  you  satified  with  your  present  condition 
and  prospects  for  that  state  ?'  '  Well,  if  I  do  right  and  commit  no  special  sin,  I 
•reckon  I  am  safe  enough.'  '  You  say  you  believe  the  Bible  ;  do  you  remember  the 
account  of  the  young  man  who  asked  Christ  the  way  of  eternal  life  ?'  I  narrated 
it,  and  added,  '  It  is  not  said  he  reached  the  kingdom  of  heaven.'  Hesitatingly  he 
replied,  '  That  does  seem  to  be  against  me,  and  I  suppose  I  must  sell  what  I  have 
and  give  to  the  poor.'  'Not  necessarily,'  I  answered,  'but  you  should  let  no 
earthly  object  separate  you  from  the  love  of  Christ.'  Before  leaving  I  gave  him 
Baxter's  Call,  which  he  said  he  would  read  and  pray  for  a  blessing  on  it.  A  few 
days  after,  he  stopped  me  as  I  passed  his  store.  He  paid  me  for  the  book,  and  said 
he  had  been  reading  it.  'Well,'  said  I,  'it  teaches  doctrines  somewhat  different 


38         COLPORTAGE  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

from  yours,  does  it  not?'  'Yes,  it  does,  and  it  is  pretty  nearly  right.'  Our  con- 
versation grew  very  serious,  and  he  expressed  a  desire  to  make  his  peace  with 
God. 

"At  another  house  I  met  with  a  professional  gentleman  who  said  he  believed 
in  the  authenticity  of  some  parts  of  the  Bible.  When  asked  if  he  believed  the 
passage,  '  All  Scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,'  he  turned  off  to  objections 
against  denominational  distinctions,  etc.  I  quoted  Scripture  again,  and  added, 
'  There  are  certain  passages  which  all  may  understand  ;  for  instance,  '  He  that  be- 
lieveth  and  is  baptized,  shall  be  saved  ;  but  he  that  believeth  not,  shall  be  damned. ' 
What  is  there  difficult  to  apprehend  in  that  ?'  He  evaded  the  question,  but  finally 
bought  several  volumes.  Gave  Baxter's  Call  to  his  brother,  inviting  both  to 
read  it. 

"Dec.  1.  At  one  of  the  most  elegant  dwellings  in  the  village,  I  met  a  lady 
on  the  verandah.  Stating  my  object,  I  handed  her  some  tracts,  which  she 
haughtily  refused,  saying  she  did  not  desire  such  things.  Called  on  a  Roman- 
catholic  family,  the  lady  said  I  could  use  my  pleasure  about  leaving  tracts.  Of 
course  my  pleasure  was  to  leave  a  few.  She  would  not  examine  my  books. 

' '  Dec.  6.  This  forenoon  met  with  good  success.  This  afternoon  have  called 
on  three  families  who  would  not  allow  me  to  exhibit  my  books — families  too 
that  profess  to  believe  that  the  Bible  contains  the  word  of  eternal  life.  One  said 
she  had  company  ;  I  begged  the  favor  of  calling  again,  saying,  '  I  desired  her  to 
become  more  interested  in  the  objects  of  the  Society.'  She  gave  me  a  negative, 
adding,  that  she  was  afraid  she  should  become  too  much  interested.  Afraid  of  becom- 
ing too  much  interested  in  the  spread  of  the  gospel — in  the  salvation  of  the 
world ! 

"Dec.  9.  In  closing  my  visits  in  the  village,  I  called  at  the  stores  and  gro- 
ceries. Was  received  kindly  for  the  most  part.  I  left  temperance  tracts  and 
Manuals  at  the  dram-shops.  At  two  of  these  places  I  saw  the  poor,  haggard  vic- 
tims of  alcohol  assembled,  with  their  glaring  eyes  fastened  on  the  fiery  liquid 
sparkling  in  decanters.  WThat  indeed  will  be  the  reward  of  the  men  who  deal  out 
damnation  by  the  glass  to  untutored  miserable  wretches  ?  One  of  the  bar-keepers, 
an  intelligent-looking  man,  said  he  would  read  the  Manual.  Thus  ended  my 

labors  at  A .     As  a  general  thing  I  was  well  received,  especially  by  those  in 

moderate  circumstances,  and  though  it  frequently  required  much  importunity  to 
obtain  the  privilege  of  displaying  the  works  of  the  Society,  yet  I  seldom  left  a 
house  without  leaving  some,  either  by  sale  or  grant.  Whenever  I  made  a  second 
call  I  was  welcomed  with  smiles,  and  any  new  volume  I  had  was  eagerly  exam- 
ined. The  friends  of  the  Society  expressed  surprise  at  my  success,  not  thinking 
that  God  was  my  helper.  Instead  of  a  distribution  mostly  gratuitous,  as  they  had 
predicted,  my  sales,  of  300  volumes,  amounted  to  $70. 

"  In  G ,  as  at  A ,  I  found  no  friend  to  .welcome  me  on  my  arrival 

but  brother  A ,  who  received  me  with  open  arms.     An  unfortunate  delay  in 

the  arrival  of  my  books  from  Charleston  caused  me  to  labor  to  great  disadvantage, 
as  I  had  brought  a  very  limited  assortment  with  me.  This  is  a  manufacturing 
place,  and  the  operatives,  who  form  a  large  majority  of  the  population,  are  gath- 
ered from  the  poor  and  ignorant  inhabitants  of  the  surrounding  country.  There 
are  two  fine  churches,  and  their  estimable  pastors  showed  an  anxiety  for  the 
spiritual  interests  of  their  respective  flocks.  But  let  my  notes  speak. 

"Dec.  12.  Called  on  an  old  lady  who  habitually  neglected  attending  church. 
Conversed  with  her  about  the  concerns  of  her  soul,  and  urged  her  to  attend 
preaching.  She  replied,  'I  can  hardly  walk  to  the  meeting-house.'  I  said, 
'  Would  you  not  make  an  effort,  if  you  knew  there  was  a  lump  of  gold  at  the  fac- 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY.  39 

tory  which  would  be  yours  by  going  for  it  ?'  'I  reckon  it  would  have  to  stay  there, 
if  I  could  not  send  for  it.'  '  Well,  if  going  would  for  ever  make  you  happy,  and 
not  going  make  you  for  ever  miserable,  would  you  not  make  the  effort  ?'  '  I 
reckon  I  would.'  I  then  spoke  to  her  of  attending  church  as  the  only  hope,  for 
she  could  not  read  ;  and  to  my  last  query  she  replied,  '  I  reckon  you  'II  start  me.' 

"  Dec.  13.  Continued  my  visits  at  Blue  Run,  and  if  I  had  been  on  any  but  an 
errand  of  mercy  I  should  have  felt  blue  enough.  Frequently  I  found  two  dirty 
couches  in  a  filthy  room,  and  parents  and  children  as  filthy  as  their  habitations, 
nearly  all  of  whom  gladly  received  my  tracts  and  books,  and  frequently  when  I 
handed  a  tract  would  ask  the  price.  When  the  parent  could  not  read,  there  was 
generally  a  child  who  could  read  '  right  smart,'  or  '  mighty  well.'  To  the  inquiry 
if  they  were  members  of  any  church,  the  reply  often  was,  '  Yes,  before  I  came 
here. '  If  frequently  visited  and  encouraged,  many  of  them  might  be  brought  into 
the  ark  of  safety.  May  the  Lord  bless  my  humble  efforts  among  them.  My  dis- 
tributions have  been  almost  gratuitous.  Have  received  just  twenty-five  cents,  but 
the  promise  of  more. 

"Dec.  14.  Have  met  with  several  peculiar  cases  ;  two  were  sin-hardened,  self- 
righteous  old  women.  They,  as  well  as  many  others  whom  I  met,  held  that  they 
were  as  well  off  as  many  in  the  church,  though  I  pointed  them  to  Christ  as  their 
exemplar.  I  could  not  but  think  of  the  inconsistency  of  many  professing  Chris- 
tians, and  offer  the  silent  prayer,  Good  Lord  give  us  grace  that  we  may  not  be 
stumbling-blocks  in  the  way  of  sinners.  But  the  incident  that  most  distressed  my 
soul  was  an  interview  with  a  midde-aged  man.  Called  on  his  wife  in  the  morning 
and  left  some  tracts  ;  called  again  in  the  evening,  and  inquired  how  she  liked  them. 
Imagine  my  astonishment  when  she  replied,  '  My  husband  destroyed  them.'  Col- 
lecting my  thoughts,  I  asked,  '  Did  he  think  they  were  hurtful,  or  had  he  other 
reasons  for  such  action?'  'He  said  he  could  buy  books  when  he  wanted  them.' 
While  conversing  with  another  lady,  the  husband  came  in.  The  wife  looked  un- 
easy, as  I  had  given  her  a  small  volume  which  she  said  she  would  conceal  from 
him  until  she  had  read  it.  Extending  my  hand,  I  saluted  him  as  a  friend.  He 
looked  sullen  and  morose.  I  immediately,  in  a  familiar  way,  introduced  religious 
subjects.  After  a  long  conversation,  in  which  he  evinced  much  profanity  and 
hardness  of  heart,  I  asked  him  if  I  might  pray  for  him.  'Not  here.1  'At  my 
room  then  ?'  '  Do  n't  care  how  much  you  pray  there.'  '  May  I,'  I  insisted,  '  men- 
tion your  name  in  prater  ?'  '  No;  but  you  may  pray  for  that  stranger  ivho  talked  so 
to  you.'  I  assured  him  I  would,  and  bade  him  farewell.  I  called  afterwards  and 
left  a  Bible,  but  he  and  his  wife  were  absent,  and,  anxious  as  I  was,  I  did  not  have 
an  opportunity  to  hear  from  him  again,  but  I  did  not  forget  him  at  the  throno 
of  grace. 

"Dec.  19.  The  old  lady  whom  I  met  yesterday,  having  given  an  account  of 
my  visit  to  her  at  several  places,  I  met  with  a  hearty  welcome.  Afterwards  saw 

her  in  the  street.     With  tearful  eyes  she  spoke  of 's  conduct.     I  said,  I  hoped 

my  visit  would  benefit  her ;  then  inquiring  as  to  the  state  of  her  own  mind,  she 
replied,  'It  don't  seem  as  though  God  Avill  forgive  such  a  sinner,  but  I  think  I 
have  more  hope.'  I  gave  her  a  few  words  of  encouragement,  and  called  a  few 
days  after.  Talked  plainly  to  both,  neither  of  whom  could  read,  and  read  them 
some  awakening  tracts.  Found  —  —  willing  this  time  to  lay  aside  her  work  a  few 
moments  while  I  engaged  in  prayer.  The  old  lady  seemed  to  possess  a  little  more 
peace  of  mind. 

"The  day  after  my  second  lot  of  books  arrived  I  sold  $15  worth,  and  had  they 
arrived  in  proper  time  I  could  have  disposed  of  the  greater  part  of  them ;  but  as 
brother  A desired  me  to  visit  B C.  H.  before  leaving  the  work,  I  could 


40  COLPORTAGE  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

not  go  over  the  ground  a  second  time.  On  my  way  to  B I  called  at  A , 

and  was  met  as  an  old  friend.  Sold  some  books. 

"  Reached  B C.  H.  on  Saturday  night.  Found  more  zealous  friends  of  the 

cause  than  I  had  before  met  with.  Here  I  met  the  first  persons  to  whom  the  idea 
of  my  stopping  at  the  hotel,  upon  expense  to  the  Society,  seemed  repugnant  to 

their  feelings.  I  was  entertained  by  Rev.  Mr.  M and  Colonel  B ,  both 

ready  to  lend  a  hand  to  the  advancement  of  the  objects  of  the  Society. 

"  I  canvassed  the  village  in  four  days.  It  is  a  wealthy  and  intelligent  commu- 
nity, a  majority  being  professional  men.  My  sales  amounted  to  $35,  besides  sub- 
scriptions to  the  Messenger  and  Child's  Paper. 

' '  In  conclusion,  permit  me  to  say  that  no  occupation  has  ever  afforded  me  that 
peace  of  conscience  and  tranquillity  of  mind  which  I  enjoyed  during  my  seven 
week's  colportage.  I  would  gladly  have  remained  longer  on  the  field  had  circum- 
stances permitted,  but  with  returning  health  returned  the  long-cherished  desire  to 
complete  my  collegiate  studies." 

REPORT  OF  MR.  W.  D. 

"I  commenced  colportage  in  F district  on  the  15th  of  January,  and  have 

visited  upwards  of  250  families,  some  of  whom  were  very  poor.  Three  of  them 
destitute  of  the  Bible,  and  some  of  them  had  very  few  religious  books  except  the 

Bible.     F is,  I  suppose,  as  well  supplied  with  evangelical  preaching  as  any 

other  part  of  the  state,  but  still  there  are  portions  of  it  where  preaching  is  rare. 
Intemperance  prevails  greatly  in  some  places,  while  in  others  there  aje  temperance 
societies  which  have  done  much  good.  I  called  one  day  on  a  Universalist,  talked 
a  long  time  to  him,  but  could  not  get  him  to  buy  books.  However,  he  let  his 
daughter  buy  some  small  volumes.  Another  poor  man  would  not  take  any  books 
because  he  could  not  read,  but  his  step-son,  a  boy  of  twelve,  bought  a  volume,  and 
afterwards  hailed  me  to  get  some  more.  I  gave  him  a  number  of  tracts,  which 
pleased  him  very  much." 

REPORT  OF  MR.  W.  R.  M. 

' '  I  have  labored  one  month  and  two  days  as  colporteur,  and  distributed,  by 
sale  or  grant,  809  volumes,  amounting  to  $63  80.  My  efforts  were  much  confined 

to  the  mountainous  parts  of  P district.     Visited  263  families,  35  of  whom  I 

found  destitute  of  religious  books,  and  24  destitute  of  the  JBible.  Fifteen  families 
habitually,  and  others  almost  entirely  neglect  public  worship.  Conversed  with 
seventy-five  families  on  personal  religion,  addressed  fourteen  meetings,  and  obtained 
fifty-three  subscribers  to  the  Messenger  and  forty  to  The  Child's  Paper.  The  coun- 
try through  which  I  travelled  is  mountainous  and  sparsely  populated  and  rough. 
Many  men  and  women,  some  in  old  and  others  in  middle  age,  with  large  families, 
do  not  know  the  English  alphabet.  I  was  often  struck  with  sorrow  on  showing  my 
books,  to  hear  the  people  say,  'I  ha'n't  no  use  for  books,  because  I  ha' n't  got  no 
larnin,  and  can't  read.'  The  larger  class  are  poor  ;  not  only  destitute  of  worldly  sub- 
stance, but  01  what  is  far  more  important,  '  the  one  thing  needful.'  Some  laid  out 
their  last  shilling  for  books,  and  wished  they  had  more.  I  distributed  many  Tem- 
perance Manuals  in  and  around  the  grog-shops.  There  is  not  a  regular  bookstore 
in  the  district,  but  every  little  store  keeps  a  few.  There  is  a  great  work  yet  to  do 
here,  which  may  be  accomplished  by  the  instrumentality  of  the  publications  of 
your  Society,  in  the  hands  of  God  ;  for  I  know  of  no  other  agency  that  would 
more  effectually  meet  the  necessities  of  the  people.  May  the  Father  of  mercies, 
through  this  and  other  means,  bring  these  precious  souls  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
Redeemer." 


E    UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA          LIBRARY    OF   THE    UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA          L 


14  DAY  USE 

rRf  7f A'Kf  R°iSF BVORROWED 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below, 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall 

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General  Library 
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HE   UNIVERSITY   OF  CALIFORNIA          LIBRARY    OF   THE    UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA 


HE    UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA 


LIBRARY    OF   THE    UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA 


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